A man faces up to 180 years in prison after a jury on Wednesday found him guilty of sexually assaulting a girl for several years in Crystal Lake beginning when she was six years old.
Juan Cheverez, 41, of Des Moines, Iowa, was charged in June 2019 with three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child.
The Crystal Lake Police Department on April 11, 2019, received a delayed report of a sexual assault involving a child.
Detectives identified the perpetrator as Cheverez and worked with local law enforcement in Polk County, Iowa, and the U.S. Marshals Service to locate the man.
The efforts were unsuccessful and a warrant remained active for Cheverez for almost three years until March 2022.
Cheverez was apprehended by law enforcement officers in Texas and extradited back to McHenry County.
A trial began in the case on Monday where prosecutors revealed that Cheverez moved into the victim’s home sometime in 2008.
Cheverez “almost immediately” began sexually assaulting the child, a 6-year-old girl, after moving in, prosecutors said.
The assaults continued for approximately the next four years.
The jury heard from the victim, her mother, Sergeant Algirdas Sindaravicius and Sergeant Jeffrey Mattson, and an expert in sexual assault cases from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford.
The jury deliberated for almost three hours before returning guilty verdicts for the three counts of predatory sexual assault of a child.
The charges are Class X felonies that carry six to 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on each count, meaning Cheverez faces a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 180 years.
“The State’s Attorney’s Office would especially thank the victim for her courage during the prosecution of this case,” the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement following the verdict.
“We encourage victims of sexual assault or abuse, regardless of how much time may have passed, to report the abuse to your local law enforcement. Our office is dedicated to bringing these predators to justice,” the statement added.
A judge revoked Cheverez’s ability to post bond following the verdict. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 24.