Columbia man charged with sex crime

Dennis Cooley

The Columbia Police Department said a 35-year-old Columbia man has been charged with a felony sex crime.

Dennis W. Cooley, who resides on Gall Road, is being charged with felony aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated domestic battery and unlawful restraint, police said.

On Monday at approximately 1:25 p.m., the victim walked into the Columbia Police Department and made a report. Officers located Cooley driving a pickup truck northbound on Interstate 255 near milepost 7 and stopped him. Cooley was taken into custody and transported to the police station, Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards said.

“The investigation provided officers with probable cause to believe that Cooley committed the crimes heโ€™s been charged with at his residence,” Edwards said. “The victim was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.ย  Crime Scene Investigators from the Illinois State Police processed the crime scene.”

Court information filed at the Monroe County Courthouse alleges that Cooley performed a sex act with a female victim, hit the victim in the face with his fist, and intentionally strangled her while also detaining her against her will.

Cooley is currently in custody at the Monroe County Jail in Waterloo with bond set at $50,000. He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 15.

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Corey Saathoff

Corey is the editor of the Republic-Times. He has worked at the newspaper since 2004, and currently resides in Columbia. He is also the principal singer-songwriter and plays guitar in St. Louis area country-rock band The Trophy Mules.
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