HARDIN – A man well-known to Calhoun authorities pleaded guilty to a count of public indecency, a Class A misdemeanor, on Sept. 11, 2018.
Waylon Craigmiles, 25, of Hardin confessed to deputies from the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office and pleaded guilty in court to the charge, which resulted from a May 5, 2018, incident of Craigmiles standing in his front yard in broad daylight, exposing himself while looking at least one woman in the eyes. Authorities said Craigmiles was also fondling himself as he looked at at least one woman. That woman made a complaint to the sheriff's office at 2:48 p.m. that day.
In what was described by police as an “unrelated coincidence” a young girl was taking First Communion photos at the nearby Hardin Gazebo with family members. Those family members were later found by officers, and they said the young girl did not witness Craigmiles fondling himself in broad daylight near that park. Deputies determined his behavior was not motivated by the young girl, but instead by the adult woman with whom he made eye contact.
After pleading guilty to the charge and confessing his actions to police, Craigmiles was sentenced to one year of court supervision and has been ordered to complete counseling as well as pay $777 in court costs. He will also not be required to register as a sex offender, as Illinois law requires three convictions of public indecency for that. Also, if Craigmiles successfully completes his court supervision, a conviction will not be on his record.
Chief Deputy Kyle Jacobs believes law enforcement acted appropriately in the situation, given sentencing statutes.
“The Calhoun County Sheriff's Office believes this case was handled properly by Calhoun County States Attorney Richard Ringhausen,” Jacobs sad in a release. “Based upon Illinois sentencing guidelines and Craigmiles's very limited criminal history, this disposition would have been the same, if not less, in any other county in Illinois.”
A portion of the leniency shown in the case came from Craigmiles seeking mental health treatment prior to his court date. Jacobs said Craigmiles indicated through his legal counsel he would be seeking help for the issues driving his public exposure and self-fondling.
This, however, is not the first complaint the sheriff's office has received from Craigmiles. Jacobs said the man is known by police to have said inappropriate or lewd comments to women on social media. In one case, police were involved and he was charged with disorderly conduct. That charge was reduced to an ordinance violation with a guilty plea.
“Each complaint made is investigated, but not everything can end in an arrest,” Jacobs said. “Multiple complaints does not equate criminal charges. If someone makes unwanted Facebook contact and ignores verbal warning by police and continues, that is an electronic harassment charge. He's complied with authorities and people's wishes in a few situations. This is the first time we've received a complaint about him doing anything like this.”
If Craigmiles disobeys his court supervision, he may have that supervision revoked by the court. This could result in probation accompanied by an actual criminal conviction or even up to 364 days in county jail.
Craigmiles also operates a YouTube channel in which he covers country Western standards.
