A law firm representing the Overstreet 2020 campaign has asked a southern Illinois TV station to stop running a trial-lawyer sponsored ad it says is "disgustingly false."
In a 30-second spot paid for by "Clean Courts Committee," the mother of a 6-year-old who was allegedly raped says she can't believe Judge Overstreet would let the accused "go."
"No charges, no registering as a sex offender. Nothing," the mother says.
The accused, Jerad Peoples, was convicted in absentia by a Marion County judge in 2017. His conviction was overturned in June at the Fifth District Appellate Court by a three-judge panel, lead by Justice Milton Wharton. The judges found that Peoples did not miss his trial date willfully but missed it because he nearly took his life and spent the day in a hospital.
Justices David Overstreet and John Barberis concurred in the decision with Wharton.
After the judges ordered a second trial, Peoples posted bond and left Big Muddy prison as a suspect, rather than a convict.
Overstreet, Republican, faces Democrat Judy Cates in a race to succeed retiring Justice Lloyd Karmeier. Cates is a colleague of Overstreet at the Fifth District Appellate Court.
"The advertisement makes a number of over-the-top, false claims against Justice Overstreet, and we demand that your station remove the advertisement from the air immediately," wrote Chicago attorney John Fogarty of Clark Hill to ABC affilaite WSIL in Carterville on Oct. 27.
Fogarty wrote that the appellate court ruling did not "release a child rapist from Big Muddy Prison," or exempt a child rapist from the sex offender registry.
"Nor did Justice Overtstreet," Fogarty wrote.
"The assertions made by the 'Clean Courts Committee' are not only false, they are among the more scurrilous charges one would ever see in a political campaign advertisement.
"Invoking the specter of a released 'child rapist' is a disgusting campaign tactic."
Fogarty wrote that the station is not obligated to run the ad as it is not sponsored by a candidate, "and therefore the 'no censorship' provisions of federal law that prevents broadcasters from censoring advertisements sponsored by candidates do not apply here."
"In fact, as a licensee, you have a legal duty to reject this Advertisement 'to protect the public from false, misleading or deceptive advertising,'" Fogarty continued.
A spokesperson for Cates did not disavow the ad.
"We have seen the ad," the spokesperson said. "We think the victim's voice deserves to be heard. The rapist is not the victim. Judge Overstreet cannot run from his record."
Overstreet issued this statement:
"The ad that is being run on the airwaves is simply horrific and it is a shame that my opponent has stooped to this level. There's no place for this in the judiciary."