Former Rockford youth theater leader sentenced to 45 years for 2009 abduction of teen

Online Staff Report

Donald Trotter, 56, has been sentenced to a total of 45 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on three counts of criminal sexual assault, three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, one count of child abduction and one count of unlawful sending of a public conveyance travel ticket to a minor.

Trotter, the former board president for the Children’s Theater Project and Youth Theater Project (CTP/YTP) in Rockford, was found guilty after a jury trial in front of Judge Joseph McGraw Aug. 25.

Aug. 2, 2009, Rockford City Police Department was informed that a 13-year-old was a runaway. After an investigation, the 13-year-old was found in an apartment in Long Beach, Calif., with the defendant.

The defendant and a 13-year-old met in connection with theater productions through Christian Youth Theater and CTP/YTP. From June 1, 2009, to Aug. 1, 2009, the 13-year-old and the defendant engaged in a sexual relationship.

Criminal sexual assault is a class 1 felony with a sentencing range of four to 15 years for each count, consecutive to each other, at 85 percent in the Illinois Department of Corrections and lifetime registration and three years mandatory supervised release.

Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is a class 2 felony with a sentencing range of three to seven years each, concurrent in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Child abduction is a class 4 felony with a sentencing range of one to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Unlawful sending of a public conveyance travel ticket to a minor is a class A misdemeanor.