At a hearing in McDonough County Circuit Court Monday, Jeremy Sholl of Galesburg, who is being charged with numerous sex crimes against two female minors, pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial. He remains lodged in the McDonough County Jail.
Sholl, 43, was arrested by McDonough County Sheriff's Office deputies and Illinois State Police Zone 4 special agents Feb. 11 in his Galesburg home. The allegations against Sholl came to light in late 2025 when he allegedly texted a third party about his conduct, and the messages provided a detailed account of what he did. The messages were consistent with what the victims disclosed to investigators, Assistant State's Attorney Susan Maxwell noted in an earlier hearing. When Sholl was questioned on Feb. 11 by Sheriff's Office deputies, he confessed to 'some inappropriate contact with the victims.'
He faces felony charges of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child (Class X felony); two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (Class 2 felony), and two counts of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 felony). The incidents reportedly took place from November 2011 to December 2012, against two female relatives with whom he resided at the time who were eight years old, and again over a four-month span in 2018, when the children were between 13-17. If found guilty of the Class X felony, Sholl could face 50-60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC); the other charges range from three to 16 years in the DOC.
According to Sheriff Nick Petitgout, when the allegations were brought forward to his office, MCSO detectives investigated the reports. It was also during the investigation, detectives recovered digital evidence of the crime and conducted numerous interviews of the victims with the help of the Illinois Child Advocacy Center in Quincy.
Sholl is set to appear for another pre-trial hearing March 31.
