Kellerman's Attorney: "What's This Got to Do With His Job"
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Perry County States Attorney David Stanton probably said it best Tuesday morning: "Keith (Kellerman) is my friend and he is still the elected the sheriff of Perry County."
That remark resonated across Perry County today as Sheriff Kellerman faces a January 12 court date in St. Clair County on a charge of indecent exposure.
Kellerman has retained seasoned Murphysboro attorney Tom Mansfield of Reed, Heller & Mansfield to defend against the charge. In some form or fashion the charge will be addressed and ultimately go away. It's whether it takes the career of a top notch officer with it.
"What's this (charge) got to do with his job?" said Mansfield early Tuesday afternoon, telling the public to separate an outstanding career in law enforcement from this alleged personal miscue.
Mansfield said the law requires you to distinguish between public and private lives.
Mansfield said he has spoken to Kellerman once since the arrest on the parking lot of a Caseyville pub. He said he will go through the Caseyville city ordinance which the officer used to accuse him and adds that despite the accusation of public indecency, a personal vehicle provides a measure of privacy.
"I'm more concerned about my friend Keith Kellerman and his family more than the ramifications of what happened," said Stanton.
The Caseyville city ordinance citation pales by the personal and professional devastation that set in after the career law enforcement officer's arrest Friday.
As the week of Christmas season church services continued across the county, most of the prayers being offered were for Kellerman and his family.
Despite the personal miscue, needless to say he has both a strong support system and a strong following.
A Caseyville, Ill. police officer arrested Perry County Sheriff Keith Kellerman and a Collinsville man at 1:15 a.m. last Friday morning after a patrolman saw them engaging in a sex act in a car in front of the "Welcome to Caseyville" sign.
The January 12 court date Sheriff Kellerman faces in St. Clair County is almost an afterthought to the personal and professional damage already done.
Only last week, Sheriff Kellerman said he was looking forward to a quiet holiday and putting closure to the Sidnee Stephens murder case next year.
Kellerman, 48, of Pinckneyville, and J. Ian Stennett, 31, of Collinsville, were charged with public indecency after Caseyville officer Gerard Spratt found them in Stennett's 1994 Ford Escort station wagon parked at Killion's Irish Pub at 605 N. Main at 1:15 a.m. Friday.
The car was parked beneath a street light. The parking lot is shared by the nearby Happy Cow Restaurant.
At this writing, Kellerman, the sheriff's department, the Perry County board and the State's Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board are trying to sort out how to deal with Kellerman's position until the case is heard in St. Clair County.
Kellerman, a Democrat, was elected sheriff of Perry County in 1998. Perry County voters most recently re-elected him in 2010 with more than 6,200 votes.
Officer Spratt has told the media that he saw Kellerman and Stennett in the car engaged in sexual relations, according to the police department report.
Stennett's clothing was undone, Spratt specifically stated in his report.
Both Kellerman and Stennett appeared to be intoxicated, officer Spratt told the newspaper.
"Both stated they were making out. ... Both subjects were intoxicated. When asked why they were engaging in such activities in a public area and not in the confines of their homes, Stennett responded, "'Two guys don't usually do this kind of stuff at home,'" Spratt said in his report.
The two men were issued ordinance violations. They are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 12. At worst, pleading guilty or being found guilty only warrants a small fine as a Caseyville ordinance violation.
The two men were released from the scene when a designated driver picked them up.
Kellerman is an elected officer and does his job outside of the county board advice and consent, but the board, no doubt, address the matter in some form or fashion quickly.