A 36-year-old Elgin man was sentenced to 49 years in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting and abusing a child younger than 13 for nearly two years, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Ernesto Velasquez-Jimenez was found guilty in October of three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a class X felony, and seven counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child, a class 2 felony, a news release said.
Prosecutors said Velasquez-Jimenez sexually abused the victim by touching the her over and under her clothing multiple times between Oct. 1, 2021, and June 3, 2023, the release said. They also presented evidence that he sexually abused the victim’s sister in DuPage County.
On the first three counts, Velasquez-Jimenez was sentenced to 15 years each by Judge D.J. Tegeler, the release said. Each term must be served consecutively and he cannot be released until he’s completed at least 85% of the sentence, the release said.
He also was sentenced to four years for each on the remaining counts, terms that will be served concurrently to each other but consecutively to the 45 years he received for the first three counts, the release said. He must complete at least 50% of the latter sentence.
Under state law, Velasquez-Jimenez must register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life following his release.
“The defendant’s repeated conduct will forever change the lives of the children he abused, but their bravery in coming forward will make sure it will not happen again,” Assistant State’s Attorney Morgan Wilkinson said in a statement.
“I want to thank the victim and her sister for their courage not only through the court process but all the way through to sentencing. Their victim impact letters were heard and taken into consideration in this 49-year sentence. Their voices held the defendant accountable for his crimes and will protect any other children from being victimized by the defendant.”
