WILMINGTON, IL —Blake Wherry, a 21-year-old from Wilmington's 26200 block of West Willow Lane, is being kept in the Will County Jail following arrest over the weekend by the Will County Sheriff's Office in connection with serious charges of criminal sexual assault against a minor.
According to sheriff's office spokeswoman Elizabeth Matthews, back on April 23, 2025, the Will County Sheriff's Office was alerted to a criminal sexual abuse case that had initially been reported to the Wilmington Police Department the day before.
She said that due to the location of the crime, Wilmington PD transferred the case to the WCSO. Last week, a Will County judge issued a bench warrant for Wherry's arrest, on Aug. 26, and he was captured over the weekend.
Matthews said that the preliminary investigation shows that Wherry sexually abused a juvenile victim in March of 2025. Wherry is now being charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between the ages of 13-17, but the suspect is at least 5 years older than the victim.
Joliet Patch will update this story following Monday morning's appearance at the Will County Courthouse for Wherry. It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors are filing a pretrial detention petition seeking to keep the Wilmington 21-year-old detained while his criminal case is pending.
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