Continued Counseling, Fines Ordered For Ex-LITH Village President

LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL -- A former Lake in the Hills village board president will not be headed to jail after a judge this past week ordered him to one year of conditional discharge, to continue counseling and to pay fines, according to media reports. Paul Mulcahy, 65, was recently convicted of two counts of domestic battery for throwing his then-girlfriend out of his home and also dragged her down a flight of stairs on Nov. 5.

On Monday, McHenry County Judge Michael Feetterer ordered the conditional discharge, which is a form of probation that does not require Mulcahy to make regular trips to a probation officer if he stays out of trouble, according to the Northwest Herald.

The judge also ordered Mulcahy pay $75 in fines and court costs, $10 to CrimeStoppers and $50 to Turning Point of McHenry County. In addition, he must undergo a substance abuse evaluation and follow up with any potential treatment options, the newspaper reports.

He has also been ordered to continue counseling and not to have contact with the woman he battered, the Chicago Tribune reports. Mulcahy said during Monday's hearing he had "no desire" to see the victim -- a woman who he said he ended a relationship with.

During a bench trial last week, prosecutors said Mulcahy went on a dinner date with the victim on Nov. 5. After the date, they couple returned to his home and the two got into an argument, according to authorities.

Mulchay forcibly threw the victim out of his house and to the ground without any shoes or jacket, prosecutors said. After she went back into the home, Mulcahy grabbed her by the feet and dragged her down a flight of stairs. He then pushed her out the door.

The women was injured in the domestic incident, police said. She called 911 and Mulcahy was arrested by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

“I deeply regret what I did that night,” Mulcahy said during Monday's hearing. “I’m a better person than I was on Nov. 6 and I intend to stay a better person.”

Mulcahy, a longtime village board trustee in Lake in the Hills, became the village board president in 2013. He was ousted from his seat this past April by Russ Ruzanski who ran against him in the April election.

One of the main reasons Ruzanski ran against Mulcahy had to do with the former village president's domestic battery charge, according to the Daily Herald.

More via the Chicago Tribune and the Northwest Herald