In a quiet Decatur neighborhood, from 2023 to 2024, a woman was being beaten, threatened and sold to other men by her boyfriend.

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - In a quiet Decatur neighborhood, from 2023 to 2024, a woman was beaten, threatened and sold to other men by her boyfriend.

Bailey Bova's abuser pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time in the Illinois Department of Corrections. But he faces less than two years behind bars after sentencing, before he is eligible for parole.

Bova shared her horrifying experience with WAND News and why she believes justice was denied.

"I was dating his friend; his name was Lorenzo. He passed away suddenly. So I reached out to Ashante as a friend, just to let him know that our friend was no longer with us," Bova told WAND News. 

The Facebook message turned into a grieving friendship, and soon something more.

"We, you know, we'd go roller skating; we would mostly just hang out and watch movies, watch TV. That was kind of our thing," Bova explained.

But about a year into the relationship, Bova said everything changed.

"It was like a light switch flipped," she said.

Bova said her boyfriend, Ashante Brownlee, began abusing her.

"Well, the first time he hit me, it wasn't really a hit. He choked me, like, almost choked me out. And I just remember being really scared," Bova told WAND News.

She said Brownlee tried to disguise the abuse as a sexual fetish.

"So you know, and at the time, it's super scary. But when you love somebody, you'll look past it and you'll be like, maybe they're telling the truth and, you know, and then once it keeps happening," she said.

Over the next few months, Bova said the beatings became more frequent and more violent.

"It was like one tiny thing would set him off. It was. He was threatening my family. Because at one point I was like, I'm done, like, I'm going to tell on you for this, this is not okay. And that's when that was probably the worst beating I got from him," Bova explained.

During one attack, she said Brownlee trapped her in his home.

"He just drug me back in the house. He beat me on the stairs. Beat me in the kitchen. I was on my hands and knees trying to get up. He kicked me in the ribs. He broke my phone, too. And that was the worst of it," she said.

A short time later, Bova said Brownlee trapped her in his home again and forced her to have sex with another man for money.

"He's like, well, you're already here and literally locked me in his house. So it's all on camera. I'm sobbing. I don't want to do it. I'm saying no," Bova explained.

She later found out Brownlee had recorded many interactions on camera. She said he showed her a hard drive with the videos.

"So I click on it and it's just everything and it's awful. I mean, he didn't try to hide the fact that he was abusing me on camera. He didn't try to hide anything. It was awful," Bova said.

Finally, about six months after the abuse started, she went to the police.

"The detective was amazing. He did everything he was supposed to do. Brian Shaw was the acting state's attorney at the time. He took it to grand jury, and the grand jury did a full bill. They indicted him on 12 charges," Bova said.

Court records show Brownlee was arrested and indicted on multiple domestic battery charges, along with promoting prostitution, sexual assault, felon in possession of a weapon and a charge for breaking into her car.

Bova started getting help at Growing Strong Sexual Assault Center.

"They helped me a lot. And they teach you to stop blaming yourself for that because you do as a victim, you just instantly think, what did I do? Why? Why me? Because I must have done something that caused this," Bova told WAND News through tears.

As she began to heal, the criminal proceedings moved forward.

Court records show that in June 2025, the case was reassigned to Assistant State's Attorney Caelyn Deeb. But hearings dragged on for months.

"The only solace I found in that was he's in jail," she said.

On April 24, Brownlee accepted a plea deal. Just a day prior, Bova said Deeb called her to notify her of the plea. She would drop other charges in exchange for Brownlee pleading guilty to promoting prostitution, domestic battery and unlawful possession of a weapon.

"So I was like, well, why is a gun getting more justice than me? And she was like, because it's a guaranteed conviction."

Brownlee was sentenced to time served for the domestic battery charge. He was sentenced to six years for the weapons charge and three years for promoting prostitution, but he will serve those at the same time.

Illinois Department of Corrections records show he is eligible for parole in November 2027.

"There's no recourse for me as a victim. There's no protection for me as a victim. He basically got a slap on the wrist. He's going to get out and do this over and over and over again. Not to me, but to somebody else."

Shortly after Brownlee's sentencing, Bova filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's Office. She believes the Macon County State's Attorney's Office violated her crime victim rights in their handling of the case. In an email, the Attorney General's Office said it is still investigating.

WAND News reached out to Macon County State's Attorney Diane Couri about the investigation. She declined to speak with on camera, but said in a statement:

"The Macon County State’s Attorney’s Office maintains that all victims be treated with dignity and respect and adheres to that standard."

WAND News will bring you an update when the Attorney General's Office makes its final determination.

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