Indictments: Former Coles Co. Asst State’s Attorney Charged With 32 Felony Counts –

Charleston, IL. (ECWd) –

Brady Allen, former Coles County Assistant State’s Attorney has been indicted and charged on 32 felony counts, all involving three Coles County women between the ages of 18 and 35.

According to the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Integrity Bureau’s Press Release, below, Brady Allen was charged with:

• 9 Counts of Bribery – Class 2 Felonies
• 1 Count of Witness Harassment – Class 2 Felony
• 21 Counts of Official Misconduct – Class 3 Felonies
• 1 Count of Witness Intimidation – Class 3 Felony

If convicted, Brady Allen could face up to 7 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.

We previously reported on these issues between August and October of 2020 (read them here) with Brady Allen while he was still an Assistant State’s Attorney, once we inquired with the State’s Attorney, Allen was terminated or resigned from his job.

On August 22, 2020, we wrote about the Motion to Dismiss Based on Prosecutorial Misconduct filed by Attorney Todd Reardon to have Brady Allen removed from prosecuting a case.

On August 24, 2020, we published Brady Allen’s response to our first article, in which he denied all of it while admitting to having a relationship of some type. He also called it a political stunt published just prior to an election.

On August 25, 2020, Jesse Danley, Coles County State’s Attorney issued a Press Release stating the issue would be investigated.

On October 30, 2020, we published another article discussing an interview conducted by the Mattoon Police Department and other issues.

On February 22, 2021, Brady Allen had a law firm, Lambert Worldwide, send us an email referencing one of our articles and how they wished to discuss it “off the record.” We did not respond to them.

***All Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law***

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PRESS RELEASE

ATTORNEY GENERAL KWAME RAOUL CHARGES FORMER COLES COUNTY ASSISTANT STATE’S ATTORNEY WITH BRIBERY AND MISCONDUCT

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced he charged a former assistant Coles County state’s attorney with 32 counts of misconduct over interactions he had in his official capacity with three Coles County women between the ages of 18 and 35.

Formerly from Charleston, Illinois, Brady Allen, 33, now resides in Missouri but turned himself in to the Coles County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 26 after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Raoul’s office charged Allen with nine counts of bribery, all Class 2 felonies; one count of witness harassment, a Class 2 felony; 21 counts of official misconduct, all Class 3 felonies; and one count of witness intimidation, a Class 3 felony. If convicted, Allen could face up to 7 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.

“As a prosecutor who has sworn to uphold the law, I am shocked and outraged that a fellow prosecutor would allegedly use that authority to manipulate and victimize women in the community,” Raoul said. “I appreciate the continued collaboration of the Illinois State Police, which investigated this complex case. I am absolutely committed to holding public employees accountable for using their positions to take advantage of the residents they are supposed to serve.”

The case was investigated by the Illinois State Police’s Division of Criminal Investigation.

“The Illinois State Police Special Investigations Unit is dedicated to seeking out those who abuse their position and power to take advantage of others,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. “With Attorney General Raoul, ISP will continue to pursue cases of misconduct and corruption.”

From December 2018 until he resigned in August 2020, Allen served as an assistant state’s attorney in Coles County. Raoul’s office alleges that within that time frame, Allen had inappropriate text, email, phone and social media communications that were sexual in nature with female defendants he was currently or had previously prosecuted. According to Raoul, Allen solicited sexual contact, photos and videos with an understanding that in exchange, the female defendants would receive preferential treatment in their pending criminal cases.

Even after Allen was assigned to another courtroom, Raoul alleges Allen continued to solicit sexual contact, photos and videos, suggesting to the women that he could influence his colleagues at the Coles County State’s Attorney’s office. Raoul is further alleging that once Allen’s behavior was discovered, he offered to pay one female defendant’s fines and court costs if she could convince another female defendant to not pursue claims against Allen.

Deputy Bureau Chief Jonas Harger and Assistant Attorney General Mara Somlo are handling the case for Raoul’s Public Integrity Bureau.