Champaign man charged with alleged sex abuse of a child

Mar. 9—URBANA — A Champaign man who allegedly sexually assaulted a child in Urbana is being held in the county jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.

Andrew Kirk, 35, of the 1200 block of West Bradley Avenue, was arrested Wednesday on a warrant issued last week after he was charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony.

The charges allege sexual activity between Kirk and a child under the age of 13 that happened between August and October 2022 when Kirk was staying in the child's home.

An Urbana police report said police were initially alerted in September that Kirk, who is mentally handicapped, was telling people that he was having sex with the girl.

The child reportedly disclosed to someone in her neighborhood that she was sleeping with an adult male, the report said.

When interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center by a trained interviewer in September, she made no disclosures.

Police and the Department of Children and Family Services investigated the case but charges were not filed until after the girl's younger brother reportedly disclosed to someone at his school in early February what he observed Kirk doing to his sister.

In a subsequent forensic interview, the child alleged she had been assaulted by Kirk, who threatened to harm her if she told anyone.

Judge Brett Olmstead, who set Kirk's bond at the time he issued the warrant, left it intact at $100,000 and told Kirk to return to court April 5.

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