Atwood man arrested for child sexual assault

By Jacob Hamm

ATWOOD— Forty-year old Zachariah McCullough of Atwood was arrested on June 22 on five felony counts.

He is currently charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child under 13, both of which are Class X felonies, one count of criminal sexual assault of a family member under 18, a Class 1 felony, and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 18 who is a family member.

He is being charged with a Class 2 felony for the final two counts, according to court documents.

The documents showed that the investigation began in 2024.

If a person commits a Class X felony for predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor, they serve a sentence ranging from a minimum of six years in prison to a maximum of 60 years. If the assailant causes bodily harm to a victim, drugs the victim, or causes the victim to have a permanent mental or physical disability due to the crime, they are sentenced to prison ranging from 50 years to a natural life sentence, according to state law.

According to state statutes, if a person commits the crime of aggravated sexual abuse of a family member under 18, they are charged with a Class 2 felony. To be charged with this crime, the assailant must either threaten to present or present a weapon or to drug the victim. If the assailant is in a position of authority or trust with the victim under 17 years old, they are charged with a Class 1 felony for the crime.

McCullough had his detention hearing at the Douglas County Courthouse on June 23, where he was denied pretrial release. His next scheduled hearing is July 8 at 2:30 p.m. Public Defender Kevin Nolan was appointed to defend McCullough.

Douglas County Sheriff Nathan Chaplin and Douglas County State’s Attorney Robert Kosic were contacted about the investigation and arrest but did not return a request for comment as of the writing of this story.

Atwood Police Chief Joe Duncan issued a press release crediting Atwood Police Sgt. Thatcher Rodmaker and Douglas County Deputy Lonnie Homann with the investigative work. “Both Deputy Homann and Sergeant Rodmaker did an excellent job in this case in protecting the victim and investigating the case to gather probable cause for an arrest,” Duncan said.

All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.