# JOHN TRUDEAU ON NEW CHARGES - FINAL UPDATE **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2018-05-19 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2018/05/19/john-trudeau-on-new-charges --- ## Analysis John Trudeau, a legendary pinball designer with a 40+ year career at companies including Gottlieb, Williams, and Game Plan, was arrested in May 2018 on new charges of sexual abuse of a minor family member spanning 1993-2000, in addition to earlier charges of child pornography possession. The article documents the legal proceedings from May through January 2019, culminating in a guilty plea on one of the most minor charges with the remaining four dropped. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] John Trudeau was arrested on May 17, 2018 and charged with three counts: predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal sexual assault, and aggravated criminal sexual abuse — _Pinball News citing Herald-News newspaper report; official court records documented_ - [HIGH] The alleged abuse occurred over a seven-year period from September 3, 1993 to September 2, 2000 involving a female family member below age thirteen — _Official charges and police complaint documentation referenced in Herald-News_ - [HIGH] Two additional charges were added to the case by July 20, 2018, bringing total to five charges (plus two earlier separate counts of child pornography possession) — _Updated court proceedings documented through July 2018_ - [HIGH] On January 18, 2019, Trudeau pleaded guilty to one of the two most minor charges with the remaining four charges dropped — _Case conclusion documented; reference to detailed outcome report_ - [HIGH] Trudeau was living in Nevada, Iowa while on bail for child pornography possession charges when arrested on the new charges — _Arrest documentation and bail information from official sources_ ### Notable Quotes > "John Trudeau was arrested on the morning of Thursday 17th May, 2018 and charged on three counts – predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse." > — **Pinball News (citing Herald-News)**, May 19, 2018 > _Initial formal announcement of new charges against legendary designer_ > "The complaint alleges Trudeau held a 'position of trust, authority or supervision' in relation to the victim." > — **Pinball News (citing official complaint)**, May 19, 2018 > _Key legal allegation establishing supervisory abuse dynamic in charges_ > "The case involving the five charges was concluded today with a guilty plea in one of the two most minor charges and the remaining four charges dropped." > — **Pinball News**, January 18, 2019 > _Final resolution of case after months of legal proceedings_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | John Trudeau | person | Legendary pinball designer arrested and charged with sexual abuse crimes; formerly associated with Game Plan, Gottlieb, Williams, and other manufacturers | | Herald-News | organization | Daily newspaper covering area south of Chicago; reported on Trudeau arrest and charges | | Pinball News | organization | Pinball industry news website documenting Trudeau case progress from August 2017 through January 2019 | | Will County Courthouse | organization | Jurisdiction handling Trudeau case in Joliet, Illinois; courthouse location for trial proceedings | | Story County Jail | organization | Iowa jail facility where Trudeau was initially held after May 2018 arrest | | Bolingbrook | organization | South-western Chicago suburb where alleged abuse occurred at victim's home | ### Topics - **Primary:** Criminal charges and legal proceedings, Child sexual abuse allegations, John Trudeau's criminal case timeline - **Secondary:** Pinball designer's legal history ### Sentiment **Negative** (-1) — Extremely serious criminal allegations and conviction; factual reporting on grave legal matters with no positive framing ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Major pinball industry scandal involving legendary designer John Trudeau facing serious criminal charges for sexual abuse; significant reputational impact on pinball community (confidence: high) — Arrest, formal charges, guilty plea, and incarceration of prominent historical figure in pinball design - **[personnel_signal]** Removal of major historical figure from pinball industry due to criminal conviction; impacts industry reputation and historical record of key game designs (confidence: high) — John Trudeau's 40+ year career spanning multiple manufacturers (Game Plan, Gottlieb, Premier, Williams) now tainted by conviction --- ## Transcript Date: 19th May, 2018, updated 20th July, 2018 While we have been chronicling the progress of the criminal case against former pinball designer John Trudeau since his arrest last August on charges of possessing child pornography, it appears he has now been charged with a series of new offences relating to the sexual abuse of a minor who was also a family member. According to a report in the Herald-News – a daily newspaper covering the area south of Chicago – John Trudeau was arrested on the morning of Thursday 17th May, 2018 and charged on three counts – predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The charges are believed to relate to a seven-year period from 3rd September, 1993 to 2nd September, 2000 and to a female family member who was below the age of thirteen at the start of the alleged abuse. The offences are alleged to have taken place at the girl’s home in Bolingbrook, a south-western suburb of Chicago. Trudeau is believed to have been living with family in the city of Nevada in Iowa while on bail for the two on-going charges of possession of child pornography, and it was there that he was arrested on Thursday and taken to the city’s Story County Jail. ![John Trudeau](https://www.pinballnews.com/site/wp-content/uploads/news/john-trudeau-charged/01-john-trudeau-new-charges.jpg) John Trudeau (picture: Story County Sheriff’s Office) The police in Bolingbrrok received the complaint which led to these new charges on 1st December last year, but it has taken until mid-May before the charges were brought and John Trudeau was re-arrested. The complaint alleges Trudeau held a “position of trust, authority or supervision” in relation to the victim. UPDATE – 20th JULY 2018 It appears two new charges have been added to to the case against John Trudeau. He was originally charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, criminal sexual assault of a family member under the age of 18 and aggravated criminal sexual abuse 18. He is now facing a total of five charges in this case (in addition to the earlier separate charges of two counts of possession of child pornography) with the addition of aggrivated criminal sexual abuse of a victim older than 5 years, and criminal sexual assault of a victim aged 13-17 while in a supervisory role. The new charges date from September 1995 – the same date as one of the previous three charges – while the other two are from two years prior. When he was arrested on the three charges Trudeau was held at a jail in Storey County, Iowa, close to where he was living. At the end of May he was moved to a Will County jail in Joliet, Illinois, nearer the scene of the alleged crimes. Bail was set at $200,000. On 8th June a grand jury was called to consider the evidence and decide if the case should go to court. Then on 14th June Trudeau was called before a judge in the arraignment, where the charges against the defendant are read out and a plea entered. That plea was “not guilty”, and so on 27th June a pre-trial hearing was held to decide which evidence would be presented and which witnesses called. Finally, on 10th July there was a motion for the bail to be reduced. The motion was denied and John Trudeau was returned to jail to await the start of the court case. UPDATE – 17th SEPTEMBER 2018 Since our previous update there have been two further court appearances. The first was on 17th August and the second on 13th September. Neither court hearing advanced the process much beyond continuing the case for pre-trial investigation and returning the defendant into the custody of the Will County Sheriff at Will County jail in Joliet. The next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 9:30am on 15th November, 2018 in courtroom 402 at the Will County Courthouse at 14 West Jefferson, Joliet, Illinois. UPDATE – 18th JANUARY 2019 The case involving the five charges was concluded today with a guilty plea in one of the two most minor charges and the remaining four charges dropped. You can read all about the outcome and the sentence in our report here. _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: fbbb499e-285f-47e2-8c85-7d3f262c90a8*