January hearing set in Lakin case

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Andrew Gleeson has set a summary judgment hearing in a civil lawsuit against former Madison County attorney Lowell Thomas Lakin.

Gleeson will hear the motion Jan. 15, in the  case brought by attorneys Ed Unsell and Tom Keefe in 2006.

The suit, which accuses Lakin of child sexual abuse, launched the federal investigation which resulted in Lakin's conviction. He pleaded guilty to drug charges in 2008 and is serving a six-year sentence in a Texas federal prison.

Following a protracted state investigation, Lakin admitted in Madison County court in October 2011 that he committed sexual abuse on a 15 year old boy. He did not plead guilty, but he submitted a stipulation of facts similar to a guilty plea.

He accepted a six year sentence to run concurrently with his federal sentence. His release date is Nov. 30, 2013.

Plaintiff John Doe argues that due to Lakin's admission of sexual abuse he is “collaterally stopped from denying that he performed oral sex on John Doe in this litigation," the motion states.

“Therefore summary judgment on the issue of defendant’s liability in Count I is appropriate as a matter of law."

In response to the motion for summary judgment, defense attorney Clyde Kuehn wrote that “in order to be collaterally estopped in this case, the issues in the underlying criminal case must have actually been litigated by the defendant.”

Lakin was charged on Oct. 24, 2011, proceeded to a stipulated bench trial on Oct. 25, 2011, and an order was entered Oct. 26, 2011.

“As a result of the agreement with the Madison County State’s attorney’s office, if defendant proceeded to a stipulated bench trial, any sentence would run concurrent with the federal sentence. Therefore, defendant had little incentive to actually litigate the criminal case, which he clearly did not,” Kuehn wrote.

East St. Louis-area attorney Rex Carr withdrew from defending Lakin with approval from St. Clair County Circuit Judge Lloyd Cueto on Sept. 6.

St. Clair County case number 06-L-363.