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BELLEVILLE (AP) — Jurors in southern Illinois have convicted a former Boy Scout troop volunteer and Air Force officer of a dozen counts of sexual abuse involving a boy.
A St. Clair County jury convicted 55-year-old John Demers on Thursday of 12 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Jurors deliberated for less than two hours. Demers did not testify. He was taken into custody immediately. Demers was charged in 2011. He was removed that year as a Belleville Boy Scout troop's committee member and merit badge counselor.
The charges involved a teenager who said Demers had inappropriate contact with him between 2005 and 2011. Demers' defense attorney Robert Bas said Demers maintains his innocence.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 9.
