Trial Underway for Man Accused of Assaulting Woman and Baby in Wheaton

A former man already serving time for crimes in Cook County is now being tried in a DuPage County court on similar charges.

James P. Murphy, who previously lived in the 15000 block of Terrace Drive, is charged with more than 20 counts of home invasion, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

His trial began Wednesday and is expected to continue into next week.

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Murphy is accused of assaulting a woman and a 5-month-old baby in August 2005, inside a Wheaton apartment.

On Wednesday, the alleged victim in the attack told a DuPage County jury that her husband was out of town when a masked man entered their apartment and assaulted her, WGN reports.

Murphy was connected to the Wheaton crime after his arrest in a similar Cook County case. He was arrested in 2006 and convicted of similar charges. He is currently serving a 30-year sentence at the Stateville Correctional Center and is listed as a sexual predator on the Illinois sex offender registry.

The most serious of the charges—predatory criminal sexual assault of a child—is a Class X felony that brings with it a sentence of 6 to 30 years.

Murphy is expected to be in court for the rest of this week. A decision in the case could come as soon as late next week.