An Algonquin, Ill. man charged with sexually assaulting a minor is a blood relative of John Wayne Gacy, a convicted serial killer and rapist who targeted young men, many of them minors. But prosecutors, defenders and the judge presiding over his trial agree jurors don't need to know that detail.
The familial connection is "irrelevant" to the case, McHenry County state's attorney's criminal division chief told the Chicago Tribune. Even without that detail, the case against Kasper is complicated enough: in court Tuesday during the first full day of testimony, the alleged victim nervously recanted her claims, saying the assault had been a dream.
During the trial that began Monday, prosecutors alleged that Kasper assaulted a girl under the age of 13 between June and October of 2011, according to UPI.
Defense attorney Michael Barrett argued that the alleged victim gave "glaringly inconsistent" stories, and harbored anger against Kasper, who had dated her mother for years and lived with the family before having an affair, the Northwest Herald reports. Prosecutors say the victim was berated under questioning and encouraged to change her story.
Kasper is facing multiple charges of committing sex offenses against a child under 13, Fox Chicago reports.
Gacy was executed by lethal injection in 1994, but his impact on Illinois is still tangible. In October, the bodies of eight unidentified victims were exhumed to be analyzed with new DNA technology. See photos from that story below:
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