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Elgin woman accused of sneaking Xanax into jail wants charges dismissed

An Elgin hairdresser who was expected to enter a plea Monday on charges of bringing illegal contraband into a penal institution instead is seeking to have the felony charges dismissed.

Her attorney, Patrick Calihan, filed the motion during Monday's court appearance in DuPage County.

Jennifer Perik, 44, of the 300 block of Gladstone Lane, completed a 120-day jail sentence on aggravated identity theft charges in August.

Immediately upon her release, Perik was charged with bringing illegal contraband into a penal institution and possessing illegal contraband in a penal institution. She is not eligible for probation on the new charges because she is alleged to have committed the new offenses while on probation that runs through Aug. 20, 2019.

Prosecutors said deputies discovered 15 Xanax pills in Perik's cell Aug. 3 when they were gathering her belongings to move her to a different pod in the jail. They said Perik admitted to bringing 24 Xanax pills into the jail when she surrendered on July 8 by concealing them under her breast.

In his motion, Calihan argues that Perik has been under continuous doctor's care and that possession of the prescription medication is specifically authorized by the jail.

Prosecutors argued the motion does not include a legal basis to request the charges be dismissed.

Sheriff's officials said Perik was not strip-searched upon entering the jail because there was no probable cause to do so.

According to court documents, Perik suffers from "depression with suicidal tendencies, which has been aggravated by postnatal/postpartum depression."

Between August and December 2014, Perik used a 93-year-old woman's credit card 39 times to ring up nearly $6,100 in charges.

Perik spent more than $3,000 on cellphone and communication services. The remaining $3,000, Assistant State's Attorney Diane Michalak said, was spent on fertility vitamins and donor sperm from a Virginia-based fertility website.

Perik gave birth to a daughter on Nov. 17, 2015, as a result of one of the five sperm samples she purchased with the victim's credit card.

Michalak said Perik had been styling both the victim's and the victim's daughter's hair for several years. The victim's daughter noticed the charges in April 2015 and called police.

The single largest charge to the Virginia clinic -- $2,200 -- was made on Christmas Day 2014.

Michalak said the clinic told police that Perik said she was the victim's granddaughter.

Perik is currently free on $25,000 bail in her new case.