A Wabash County man convicted of multiple child pornography offenses is scheduled to be resentenced later this month following a ruling by the Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court.
Court records show 38-year-old Chad Covalt is scheduled to appear in Wabash County Circuit Court on July 27th for resentencing after the appellate court issued its decision last October.
Covalt was convicted in 2022 on 29 counts of child pornography following a bench trial and was originally sentenced by Judge William C. Hudson to 120 years in prison. At the time, Wabash County State's Attorney Kelli Storckman successfully argued that the offenses occurred during two separate courses of conduct, resulting in consecutive 60-year prison terms.
On appeal, Covalt challenged his convictions and sentence on several grounds, including alleged speedy trial violations, evidentiary issues, the sufficiency of the evidence, sentencing, and what is known as the "unit of prosecution."
The Fifth District Appellate Court rejected those arguments but found that two of Covalt's convictions could not stand under the unit of prosecution doctrine. The court vacated two convictions and remanded the case to Wabash County for resentencing, while affirming the remainder of the convictions.
During the original sentencing hearing in May 2022, Judge Hudson noted Covalt had shown no remorse and read a victim impact statement describing the lasting emotional trauma suffered by one of the victims.
Covalt was arrested in May 2021 after his ex-wife discovered child pornography images on his cellphone and turned them over to law enforcement. His resentencing hearing is scheduled for July 27th in Wabash County Circuit Court.
