Judge orders prison for man accused of raping disabled woman in Marklund

A man accused of impregnating a disabled resident of a home in Marklund has been remanded in custody pending his trial.

Isaiah S. Fields

Kane County Judge Lark Cowart ruled Sunday that 22-year-old Isaiah S. Fields, of the 5000 block of West Maple Avenue in Chicago, is a danger to the public.

Fields is charged with aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual assault and aggravated assault. He claims he sexually assaulted a resident of the Marklund Hyde Center near Geneva in August and September 2023.

Case of abuse reported at the Hyde Center in Geneva

Marklund cares for people with severe and profound mental, cognitive and physical disabilities.

Marklund Hyde Center near Geneva.
Sandy Bressner/Shaw Local News Nerwork

Authorities said the woman was discovered to be pregnant in early April and gave birth shortly thereafter.

According to Kane County Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Bechtold, the 41-year-old woman suffers from Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder. She couldn’t walk, talk or read and had the cognitive skills of a 1- to 2-year-old child, Bechtold told Cowart.

Fields worked at the woman’s home as a caregiver from August 1 to September 5, 2023.

Tests of the baby’s DNA showed there was a 99.97 percent chance that Fields was the father, Bechtold said.

Fields also faces charges in September that he molested a 67-year-old Aurora woman. According to Bechtold, he was at a friend’s house when he touched the friend’s grandmother’s breasts while she was sleeping on a couch.

“What you have here is a pattern of someone taking advantage of people who are incapable of consent,” Bechtold said. “He poses a threat to everyone as he acts more or less as a predator and takes advantage of someone who is unable to defend themselves.”

Field’s attorney, Justin Sather, requested his release under electronic home confinement.

Cowart said that was inadequate.

“Because of the circumstances, he poses a threat to anyone who is in a vulnerable position,” Cowart said. “I can keep you in your home, but I can’t control who comes in.”

Fields’ next court date is Friday before Judge John Barsanti.