33-year-old Chad Covalt has changed his mind and will not have a jury of his peers decide his fate. Instead, Covalt has elected to have bench trial next month as he faces three charges of predatory criminal sexual assault and four counts of possession of child pornography.

During a final pretrial hearing Tuesday in Wabash County Circuit Court, Judge William C. Hudson denied a defense motion to dismiss after which Covalt announced his decision to waive his right to a jury trial in favor of a bench trial at which Hudson will decide his guilt or innocence.

It’s alleged Covalt committed predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in connection to incidents between January of 2017 and last month with a girl under the age of 13. The four child pornography 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.

A Class X felony in Illinois carries a possible prison sentence of 6 to 30 years on each count. Covalt remains in the Wabash County Jail on a half million-dollar bond. The bench trial is set for April 11th.

Circuit Clerk Angie Crum said prospective jurors called for jury duty on April 11th do not need to appear.