McHenry Times

James W. Turuc Found Guilty of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

Jul 8, 2024

Patrick D. Kenneally, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announced that on July 5, 2024, James W. Turuc of McHenry, Illinois, was found guilty of the offense of failure to register as a sex offender after a bench trial before the Honorable Mark R. Gerhardt.

Evidence at trial showed that while conducting a sex offender verification check on Turuc, Detective Fields with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office learned of a phone number belonging to Turuc that was not included in his prior registrations in April 2021 or 2022. Detective Fields contacted that phone number and eventually met with Turuc in person. Records from T-Mobile confirmed that the phone number belonged to Turuc and that he acquired the number in May of 2021.

Turuc was on parole at the time of this offense after serving 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for criminal sexual assault. He faces between two to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and may be subject to extended term sentencing of up to five to ten years based on his criminal history.

Turuc will be sentenced by Judge Gerhardt on August 16, 2024.

This case was investigated by Detective Fields with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorneys Maria Marek and Margaret O’Brien.

###