A Honduran national living in Lake Villa, who was previously deported, was arrested after prosecutors say he harbored a missing child from Round Lake Beach and then sexually abused her.
Mateo Ramos-Zuniga, 22, of Lake Villa, was charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony, and harboring a runaway, a Class A misdemeanor.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Windmoeller said a 13-year-old girl met Ramos-Zuniga over the internet.
The child’s mother reported to the Round Lake Beach Police Department that the girl had run away from home in mid-April.
Officers reviewed some social media contact between Ramos-Zuniga and the child that were sexual in nature, Windmoeller said.
Officers were actively searching for the missing child and believed she was staying at Ramos-Zuniga’s home in Lake Villa.
They went to Ramos-Zuniga’s residence to look for the child and Ramos-Zuniga lied and told them the girl was not there, Windmoeller said.
He later admitted to the police that the girl was present at that time.
A victim-sensitive interview was conducted with the victim and she told investigators that the two had sexual conversations on social media.
Ramos-Zuniga knew the girl was 13, she said. Ramos-Zuniga admitted to officers that he committed numerous sex acts on the child despite knowing her age, Windmoeller said.
The child, in a follow-up interview after Ramos-Zuniga was arrested, also confirmed that Ramos-Zuniga committed multiple sex acts on her.
Ramos-Zuniga’s phone was seized and bedding was also collected for evidence.
Ramos-Zuniga is a Honduran citizen and in the United States illegally, Windmoeller said, adding that while he is young, his criminal history in his home country is unknown. He has an alien removal action listed in his record from 2019.
“Given his lack of ties to this community and the seriousness of the charges and the allegations, he has an incentive to flee not only this community, but this country,” Windmoeller said.
Windmoeller said that Ramos-Zuniga lured the minor victim to his home, which required law enforcement to track her cellphone.
The prosecutor also said that Ramos-Zuniga preyed upon the child and actively encouraged her to delete evidence of their relationship.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the request during a detention hearing.
Lake County Assistant Public Defender Gregg Wolpoff, who is representing Ramos-Zuniga, said his client works in construction and lives in Lake Villa with a co-worker and their two children but had an alternative place to stay should he be released that does not have any minors.
“We’re not really debating the facts of what happened,” Wolpoff said, adding that while Ramos-Zuniga initially admitted to lying to police, he later cooperated with them.
Wolpoff said the girl first approached Ramos-Zuniga on Instagram and that the child voluntarily came to his home.
Ramos-Zuniga remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 7 for a case management conference.