PARISH SENTENCED 4/22/24 Clay
County State’s Attorney Phillip M. Givens announced that Cecil E. Parish, 51,
of Flora, was sentenced to time in the Illinois Department of Corrections on Friday,
in Clay County Circuit Court for violating the terms and conditions of his
probation. Parish
was previously placed on 24 months of probation for Burglary, a Class 2 Felony,
on April 13th of last year. Parish violated his probation by
failing to report to probation as directed and committing an Aggravated
Battery. He admitted to the violations in Court on February 5th of
this year and a contested Sentencing Hearing was held on Friday. Upon
completion of the Sentencing Hearing, Parish was sentenced to 5 years in the
Illinois Department of Corrections by Judge Joshua Morrison. He will have a
12-month period of Mandatory Supervised Release. The
initial investigation was conducted by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and
the probation violations were conducted by the Clay County Probation
Department. State’s Attorney Phillip Givens said, “We want defendants to take
Probation seriously as it is an opportunity for them to be rehabilitated and be
productive members of this community. Clay County has one of the most
experienced Probation Departments in the entire State. We are set up to help
defendants become productive members of the community when they are placed on
probation. But, if the defendant makes the choice to violate, then we will
hold them accountable for those actions. My office and I commend the Clay
County Probation Department for their hard work.”