MARION COUNTY — A 28-year-old Centralia man was sentenced Thursday in Marion County Court to 35 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for sexually assaulting a young girl.

Jerad Peoples made no statement Thursday before Judge Mark Stedelin handed down the sentence, but two people provided mitigating statements on Peoples’ behalf, a victim’s impact statement was delivered in aggravation.

Peoples was convicted last year after he failed to appear at trial for Class X felony criminal sexual assault of a victim under the age of 13. Three other counts of the same charge were dismissed prior to the bench trial.

A warrant was subsequently issued for Peoples’ arrest and the $25,000 cash bond he had posted earlier in the case was revoked.

He was located a short time later and authorities reportedly discovered later that he had been in the hospital that day.

Peoples sought to have the conviction overturned, but the Fifth Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and remanded the case back to Marion County for sentencing.

In addition to serving at least 85 percent of his 35 year prison sentence, Peoples will have to serve 3-years mandatory supervised release following his prison term.