Prosecutors say a man kidnapped a child and held a knife to her neck, strangled her and sexually assaulted her before officers rescued her from an apartment building in Mundelein.
The Mundelein Police Department responded around 7 p.m. Wednesday to the 500 block of McKinley Avenue in an attempt to locate a missing 15-year-old girl.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kathleen Laughlin said the girl was reported missing by her parents to the Waukegan Police Department on June 2.
The girl’s parents reported they believed the child was at the apartment building on McKinley Avenue after tracking a cellphone in her possession.
Officers met with the resident of the apartment and he reported he rents a room in the apartment to Noe A. Camacho-Leon, 30, of Mundelein.
The resident allowed officers into the apartment and directed them to Camacho-Leon’s room, Laughlin said.
Camacho-Leon opened the door and officers saw the missing child inside on Camacho-Leon’s bed.
Laughlin said the child told her father that Camacho-Leon beat her, strangled her and had sex with her.
The girl had bruises on her neck and arms and was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for a sexual assault examination.
The resident told officers that he witnessed Camacho-Leon bring the child into the apartment through a window.
He said he could hear Camacho-Leon having sex with the child, which involved the girl crying and Camacho-Leon yelling at times, as well as physical fighting occurring, Laughlin said.
While the child was at the apartment, she had reached out to her friend to tell her that Camacho-Leon was being abusive to her.
She also talked to her brother and told him that Camacho-Leon sexually assaulted her while she was sleeping and strangled her, Laughlin said.
The child was interviewed at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center and she disclosed she had met Camacho-Leon a year prior in Waukegan.
The two had talked through Instagram and they lived near each other in Waukegan, before Camacho-Leon later moved to his apartment in Mundelein.
Camacho-Leon recently reached out to the girl through Instagram to hang out, Laughlin said.
Camacho-Leon allegedly paid for an Uber for the child to take from her home to his apartment.
The child said that Camacho-Leon sexually assaulted her and bought cocaine from a man outside his apartment.
Earlier on the day that the victim was rescued, Camacho-Leon had accused the girl of stealing $5,000 from him and she left the apartment after he yelled at her, Laughlin said.
The 15-year-old realized her cellphone battery was dying so she walked back toward Camacho-Leon’s apartment to find help charging her phone.
She sat down on some stairs and Camacho-Leon found her and pulled her into the apartment by her hair, Laughlin said.
Laughlin said that Camacho-Leon began strangling the child from behind with his forearm and held a large knife to her neck while saying, “You know I could kill you right now.”
The child reported that Camacho-Leon had previously strangled her another time as well.
A neighbor told police he witnessed Camacho-Leon pull the child by her waist and wrists toward his apartment while the girl yelled for Camacho-Leon to stop around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Laughlin said.
Camacho-Leon was charged with kidnapping by force or threat, aggravated battery by strangulation and aggravated unlawful restraint.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Camacho-Leon pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition following a detention hearing.
The judge said the facts of the case and Camacho-Leon’s criminal history and non-compliance with court orders show there are no conditions of release to mitigate his threat he poses.
Camacho-Leon remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 2 for a preliminary hearing.