Illinois man stabs himself after jury’s guilty verdict

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Authorities say a central Illinois man stabbed himself in a courtroom shortly after a jury found him guilty in a sexual assault case.

The Pantagraph reports 78-year-old Johnny Icard was sitting alone Wednesday at a defence table in Bloomington where he had represented himself at trial. When the judge said he was revoking Icard’s bond, the Bloomington man said he had family affairs to attend to and wasn’t expecting the verdict.

He stabbed himself in the abdomen moments later. McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage says Icard used a folding knife with a 3 1/2-inch blade. The jury that convicted him of predatory criminal sexual assault had already left the courtroom.

Sandage says his office is investigating how Icard got the knife through metal detectors.

Icard was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover. He’ll be sentenced next month.

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Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com