Rollins sentenced to 30 years in prison

BENTON —Christopher Rollins, the 30-year-old West Frankfort man that was found guilty of aggravated battery that left his then-girlfriend Tessa Akin with severe burns over nearly 60 percent of her body, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Rollins was found guilty on September 6, 2014 during a one-day bench trial in Franklin County Court.  The aggravated battery charge, a Class X felony, carries a mandatory jail sentence with a range of six to 45 years.  Under truth-in-sentencing laws Rollins will be required to serve 85 percent of the sentence, meaning that he will serve approximately 26 years and will not be eligible for parole until 2040.  The sentence, handed down Tuesday, will be followed by a period of three years of mandatory supervised release.  Rollins was also ordered to pay $95,757 in restitution to Akin, who was recently married and went by Tessa Leech, during the trial.

Akin was found gravely injured in the backyard of the West Frankfort residence where Rollins was staying in August 2012. During the trial Rollins admitted to throwing a flammable liquid on Leech, an admission backed up by testimony during the trial, but how the substance ignited was in dispute.  Rollins claimed Akin lit a cigarette lighter and that ignited the flammable liquid while Akin maintained that her then-boyfriend intentionally set her clothing on fire. Testimony during the trial showed that Rollins fled the scene before police and medical personnel arrived.

Akin has undergone almost 20 surgeries since she suffered the burns.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Tom Tedeschi presided over the bench trial and handed down the verdict during a hearing Tuesday afternoon.