A judge sentenced a Harvard man to 13 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman and keeping her held in a home while armed with a knife in Harvard.
Cesar C. Ortiz, 38, of Harvard, was charged in January 2023 with aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated unlawful restraint, domestic battery and interference with the reporting of domestic violence.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said Ortiz committed unlawful restraint on a woman around 10 p.m. on January 18.
Ortiz confined the woman in her bedroom in the 300 block of Marengo Road in Harvard, the complaint said.
Ortiz was armed with a fixed-blade kitchen knife and shoved the woman to the ground, the complaint said.
The complaint said Ortiz threatened the woman with the knife and sexually assaulted her.
The victim was prevented from calling 911 because Ortiz took her cell phone away and threw a tablet down the stairs, the complaint said.
Prosecutors said the series of events happened following an argument with his roommate when she ended their dating relationship.
Prosecutors said the woman remained in the home overnight to prevent further attacks and went to the Harvard Police Department to report the assault once Ortiz left for work.
An investigation conducted by the Harvard Police Department resulted in the recovery of the knife used during the assault and further forensic testing connected Ortiz to the crime, prosecutors said.
Officers arrested Ortiz a week after the incident and transported him to the McHenry County Jail.
Court records show Ortiz entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office this month.
He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault threatening life, a Class X felony, in exchange for being sentenced to 13 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The plea was accepted by McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis.
Ortiz will be required to serve 85% of the sentence and will be placed on mandatory supervised release for a period of three years to life.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said he commends the victim for her bravery in reporting the “heinous attack” and thanks the Harvard Police Department and Illinois State Police Forensic Science Laboratory for their work on the investigation.