32 year old Chad Covalt of Mt. Carmel is being held on a $50,000 cash bond in the Wabash County Jail after being charged with three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and four counts of possession of child pornography. Charges filed by State’s Attorney Kelli Storckman allege Covalt committed predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in connection to incidents between January of 2017 and this past Tuesday with a girl under the age of 13. The four child porn charges allege Covalt filmed and/or photographed the unclothed young girl between January of 2017 and January of 2020. All 7 counts are Class X felonies. Covalt made his initial court appearance today via video where a preliminary hearing in the case was set for June 14th. The charges stem from an investigation by Mt. Carmel Police that resulted in Covalt’s arrest on Tuesday. A Class X felony in Illinois carries a possible prison sentence of 6 to 30 years on each count.
