Children Will Testify in Boulder Hill Battery Trial

When Brian LeSure’s trial begins later this month, the two young children he is charged with beating will be called on to testify.

That was the decision of Kendall County Judge John Barsanti on Wednesday, as he ruled against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, who tried to keep the children, ages 6 and 4, from the courtroom.

LeSure, 30, of the 0-99 block of Rocky Way in Boulder Hill, was charged on April 4 with aggravated battery after DCFS investigators found bruises on the children that day. LeSure was the live-in boyfriend of the children’s mother, and prosecutors say he struck both of the children on the buttocks with a leather belt repeatedly.

LeSure was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a child, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery. He is being held at the Kendall County Jail.

Under a subsequent court order, DCFS took custody of the brother and sister and removed them from the home. Prosecutors subpoenaed both children to testify in the trial, which is set to begin Aug. 15. However, acting on behalf of DCFS, Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office filed a motion to quash those subpoenas on July 29.

In the motion, Madigan’s office argued that the children have “suffered abuse at the hands of the defendant,” and warns of the “serious risk of harm that may befall the children if they are required to testify.”

In court Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Danielle Steimel handed Barsanti a document for his eyes only, that she said would explain in detail the potential risks of compelling the children to testify. That document was protected from disclosure, she said, and though it was entered into the record, it will remain sealed, Barsanti said.

However, it was not enough to sway Barsanti, as he denied the motion, and also declined to delay the trial. DCFS had asked for a delay so that the children’s therapist could prepare them to testify, according to the July 29 motion.

The remainder of Wednesday’s hearing was dedicated to hearsay evidence, and whether that will be admitted. Barsanti heard from two witnesses: Jason Andrade, director of mental health with the Kendall County Health Department; and Audrey Lenchner, an investigator with DCFS.

It was Lenchner who first spoke to the two children, the older sister at her elementary school and the younger brother at home. She described those meetings, and said she saw the bruises on both children. Andrade also later interviewed both.

LeSure’s attorney, Richard Irvin, challenged both witnesses, saying they cannot personally verify that the children’s statements were true. The hearsay hearings will continue Friday afternoon.

Brian LeSure is the brother of Theddias LeSure, 23, of the 2400 block of Riva Ridge Road, who is charged with 28 counts of murder, attempted murder and arson for allegedly setting the fire that killed his cousin, Maurice Vaughn, 32, and his brother, Matthew LeSure, 26, in June 2009.

Theddias LeSure was in February, and is currently in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health. He was set to face the death penalty, until Gov. Pat Quinn signed the law repealing it in March.