Decision Delayed on Psych Records in Plainfield Child Sex Abuse Case

A ruling scheduled for Wednesday on whether to release the psychiatric records of a boy allegedly subjected to sexual abuse by a teen was pushed back a day.

Will County Judge Sarah Jones postponed her decision when the attorney for the alleged sexual abuser could not make it to her courtroom for the Wednesday morning hearing. The attorney, Neil Patel, was at a sentencing in an unrelated case down the hall of the Will County Courthouse, said one of his associates, Joel Murphy.

Patel is trying to get a hold of the alleged victim's psychiatric records to defend 19-year-old Jason Minger against charges of criminal sexual abuse.

Minger, of Plainfield, was arrested in May 2012. He had allegedly abused a boy over the course of a year. The alleged abuse may have been committed nearly two years prior to Minger's arrest, according to court papers.

At an earlier court hearing, Patel told Judge Jones the boy was undergoing counseling when he told his mother Minger sexually abused him, but he had never mentioned the abuse to his counselor. Patel also said the boy was twice admitted to an in-patient facility, once for a week and once for two weeks.

"I'm sure the in-patient treatment was related to mental health issues," Patel said at the earlier hearing.

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