Dad Who Declared Daughter 'Possessed By Demon' Again Found Unfit

WAUKEGAN, IL — The man accused of locking his 10-year-old daughter in the basement for months has been found unfit to stand trial by a second court-appointed physician.

Randy Swopes, 49, will undergo a second mental fitness hearing before a judge to determine whether he can face criminal charges of unlawful restraint and child endangerment in Lake County.

Circuit Judge Christopher Stride Tuesday appointed Eric Rinehart as the defense attorney for Swopes, who had previously sought to represent himself. Rinehart, who announced last week he was seeking the Democratic Party's nomination to run for Lake County State's Attorney, had previously been appointed as standby counsel for Swopes in an advisory capacity.

Mr. Swopes and his wife, Katherine Swopes, were arrested last July after police received an anonymous call that someone was being held in the basement of the couple's home in the 200 block of Liberty Street in Waukegan.

Waukegan police said they discovered the couple's daughter locked in their basement. Police found she had been forced to use a training toilet and shower using a bucket. The Swopeses told investigators they believed their daughter was "possessed by a demon," according to police. The 10-year-old girl and three of her siblings, aged 7, 13 and 15, were taken into protected custody.

Stride has already declared Swopes unfit once before. At his first fitness trial last November, a court-appointed psychologist described some of Swopes' outlandish claims, and prosecutors presented no evidence that he was fit for trial.

In the past, Swopes has asserted that Lake County officials, past and present United States presidents and other politicians are involved in occult child abuse rituals involving drinking blood, drugs and sexual activities. He has also previously proclaimed that he is Jesus.

Circuit Judge Mark Levitt ordered Swopes transferred to the care of the Illinois Department of Public Health. But in January, after about a month of treatment at a facility in Elgin, state public health officials declared Swopes fit to stand trial and sent him back to Lake County Jail.

In June, Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti ordered a second mental fitness evaluation after Swopes provided her an letter including "words, pictures and numbers that made absolutely no sense," the Lake County News-Sun reported.

Mrs. Swopes pleaded guilty in May in exchange for a sentence of one year of periodic imprisonment with a 24-hour curfew, two and a half years of probation and 150 hours of community service. She was given credit for 17 days spent in Lake County Jail and was ordered to register as a violent offender to youth, testify truthfully and not have any contact with her children or husband, among other things. Divorce proceedings involving the couple are underway.

Swopes expressed disbelief that, after interviewing him, the court-appointed doctor had found him unfit to stand trial. He called the whole process a "charade," the Daily Herald reported. According to the News-Sun, Swopes said he could not "understand, in any way, that she found me unfit after I answered those questions."

In 2012, Swopes pleaded guilty to aggravated battery following allegations he used glue and threatened to stitch together the buttocks of his 14-year-old son in December 2011. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 250 hours of probation in that case. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Affairs returned custody of five of the couple's nine children following his conviction.

A conviction for unlawful restraint, a felony, can be punished with a maximum of three years in prison. Swopes, who has already spent more than a year in jail, is due back in Stride's court for a status hearing Monday before a date for a fitness trial is set.

Earlier:

• Dad Of Daughter 'Possessed By Demon' To Act As Own Attorney
• Dad Charged With Imprisoning Daughter Ruled Fit To Stand Trial
• Man Accused Of Imprisoning 'Demon' Daughter Found Unfit For Trial
• Parents Imprisoned Girl In Basement, Said She Was Possessed: Cops