A New Boston man has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a Class 3 felony of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. 25-year-old Joshua Masters was originally facing a Class 1 felony criminal sexual assault charge. He was arrested last June after Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a 911 call in New Boston. The Mercer County Sheriff’s Department was assisted by the New Boston Police Department and Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services. Under the negotiated plea entered Monday in Mercer County Circuit Court, he was also sentenced to three years in prison for violating his probation in a 2018 burglary case. That sentence will run concurrent to the ag battery sentence.
