A Belvidere man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a young child in the backseat of his car and trying to coerce the child into not telling authorities in Woodstock.
Jesus Zepeda, 58, of Belvidere, was found guilty of two counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault following a four-day jury trial that ended Thursday, McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese said.
Freese said evidence released during the trial proved that on multiple occasions, Zepeda took a young child to various parks around the area where he showed her pornography and sexually assaulted her in the backseat of his car.
There was also evidence that Zepeda used grooming techniques that included buying gifts and toys for the child to keep her from telling anyone about the assaults, Freese said.
The assaults were uncovered when the child told her stepmother what had happened after seeing Zepeda at her 11th birthday party.
The family notified the Woodstock Police Department immediately, and an investigation was opened, which led to the charges, Freese said.
Court records show the abuse took place from September 2021 to September 2023.
It took less than an hour for the jury to unanimously convict Zepeda, Freese said.
Zepeda can be sentenced from 12 years to 120 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, Freese said. He is required to serve a minimum of 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Zepeda is also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, Freese said.
Zepeda is due to be sentenced on Feb. 6.
Freese said she commends the courage of the victim in this case for reporting this abuse and testifying at trial.
“This man stole a young child’s innocence, and we are thankful that this jury unanimously took his,” Freese said.
Freese thanked the McHenry County Child Advocacy Center for their commitment, the Woodstock Police Department, and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance.