RANTOUL, IL (Chambana Today) – At the end of a two-day jury trial, a Rantoul man was found guilty of two counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault on Wednesday.

Joshua Nibbe, born on March 31, 1986, was found guilty after a jury took less than a half hour to return the verdict. The jury heard testimony from the child victim about incidents of sexual abuse that occurred between October 2021 and February 2022 in Rantoul. Lead prosecutor Joel Fletcher also presented evidence from Rantoul Police investigators and Children’s Advocacy Center Forensic Interviewer Mary Bunyard also spoke in support of the child’s testimony.

The Rantoul Police Department opened an investigation into Nibbe in April of 2022 after the child’s mother reported that the child had disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Nibbe. The child was 11 at the time of the disclosure and reported that the abuse had been ongoing since the age of 10 and living in the same residence as Nibbe.

The Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges on June 22, 2022 and obtained a warrant for Nibbe’s arrest. He was arrested on June 29, 2022, and has been in custody at the Champaign County Correctional Center since. He was represented by Jeff Cisco at trial after having been represented by the Public Defender’s Office, at times advising the court that he wished to represent himself at the trial.

Both counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual assault are class X felonies, with a sentencing range of six to 60 years of incarceration. Because Nibbe was found guilty of two counts, he faces mandatory consecutive sentencing for these offenses. The case is set for sentencing hearing on October 6 at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Roger Webber.