Down south in Collinsville, 30-year-old convicted sex offender and father Steven D. Ballinger has been charged with producing child pornography, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. The man has been at the center of a high-profile child custody case involving his 2-year-old son, Romell McGee.
To the dismay of Thomas Kennedy, the Illinois family law attorney representing the child's former foster parents, a judge removed the child from foster care and placed him with Steven Ballinger's parents last August.
But the attorney, who is licensed to practice in Illinois but maintains an office in Clayton, Mo., was relieved to hear that the boy's father has finally been charged:
"I am thrilled that someone finally took these claims seriously."
Steven Ballinger was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he enticed a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the production of pornography. The victim, identified only by initials, is not his young son.
The boy was taken from his biological mother when he was two days old after it was discovered he was born exposed to cocaine and placed with foster parents Stella and Jimmy Hartwick. Eleanora Mitchell, the child's biological grandmother, assumed custody after she learned through DNA testing that the child was her grandson.
But although Steven Ballinger was found in his mother's home during a visit by an Illinois Dept. of Children and Family Services caseworker, in violation of the terms of charges of a past sex offense, the judge decided he was not a threat to his son. He was later convicted of sexual abuse for having sex with a 12-year-old.
Attorney Thomas Kennedy, as would any tenacious Illinois family lawyer, fought hard to protect his client's foster child from potential abuse. And while this case likely has more twists and turns ahead, he views Steven Ballinger's arrest as a positive development.
Related Resources:
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Sex Offenses (FindLaw's Law Brain)
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Search Chicago Family Law Attorneys (FindLaw)
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Grandma Says Mom Captured with Fugitive Sex Offender BF Won't See Kid (FindLaw's Blotter Blog)
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