By Patrick Baron

BLOOMINGTON – After an elderly man stabbed himself with a plastic knife at the Law and Justice Center, the McLean County Sheriff’s Department is investigating how he managed to sneak the knife through security.

A jury determined that Johnny Icard, 78, was guilty of child molestation Wednesday afternoon. Following the verdict, Icard reportedly took out a 3 1/2 inch plastic knife and stabbed himself in the stomach.

McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage said it’s not yet known how Icard, who had to pass through a metal detector in the Law and Justice Center’s lobby, got the knife through security.

“We’re reviewing all of our security procedures and we’ll find out how it was brought in and under what circumstances,” said Sandage. “We’ll make sure anything that needs to be changed or addressed on our part gets done.”

Sandage said Icard’s stab wound appeared to be non-life threatening. Icard was taken to a local hospital to be treated. Sandage added police will talk to Icard during the investigation.

“We’ll be doing a lot of follow-up and seeing that our security procedures are up to snuff and make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Sandage said.

Sandage noted he wasn’t sure how long Icard will remain in the hospital. Sandage said the Sheriff’s Department has requested that the U.S. Marshals review the security at the Law and Justice Center.

Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].