A Belvidere man has been sentenced to 36 years in prison in McHenry County for sexually assaulting a young child in the backseat of a car, then attempting to coerce the child into not telling authorities.
Jesus Zepeda, 59, of Belvidere, Illinois, was sentenced to a total of thirty-six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on Friday after he was found guilty in December on two counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese announced.
Freese said previously that evidence released during Zepeda’s December trial proved that on multiple occasions between September 2021 and September 2023, 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 about what had happened after seeing Zepeda at a birthday party.
The family notified the Woodstock Police Department immediately, and an investigation was opened, Freese said.
It took less than an hour for the jury to unanimously convict Zepeda during the trial in December, Freese said.
On Friday, Zepeda was sentenced to twenty years on the first predatory criminal sexual assault charge and sixteen years on the second count, Freese said.
The sentences handed down by the McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis shall run consecutively, Freese said, adding that Zepeda is required to serve 85 percent of the sentences before becoming eligible for parole.
Upon release, Zepeda will be placed on mandatory supervised release for a range of three years to natural life, Freese said.
She added that Zepeda is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Freese commended the courage of the victim in this case for reporting the abuse and for facing her abuser at trial.
“It is our honor to seek justice on behalf of such a brave child. While no sentence can undo the harm done, we are relieved that this predator will be incarcerated until long after this child is a grown adult.” Freese stated.
Freese thanked the McHenry County Child Advocacy Center for their ongoing commitment to ensuring that the voices of child victims are heard, as well as the Woodstock Police Department and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance during the investigation.