A Spanish national, who is in the country working as a teacher for an elementary school in Waukegan, is accused of a brutal and prolonged attack where he allegedly strangled and punched his girlfriend, who also works at the school.
Eliseo Botella Pacheco, 39, of Waukegan, was charged with one count of aggravated domestic battery by strangulation, a Class 2 felony.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said a woman went to the Waukegan Police Department on May 4 to report a domestic violence incident.
She had suffered numerous visible injuries to her face and body.
The woman reported that Botella Pacheco, who is her boyfriend who she was living with, had attacked her.
The incident began in the parking lot of an elementary school where the two of them work, McConnell said.
Botella Pacheco works for Waukegan Consolidated School District 60 as a teacher at North Elementary School, 410 Franklin Street in Waukegan.
The victim said a fight over a phone ensued where she tried to get her phone back from Botella Pacheco.
The two went back to their apartment where most of the attack occurred, McConnell said.
Botella Pacheco punched the woman in the face, kicked her in the stomach and her legs, causing her to fall to the ground, McConnell said.
He got on top of the woman and strangled her using both hands, McConnell said.
She said she could not breathe and it felt like her eyes were popping out of her head.
The victim fought back and eventually got free. Botella Pacheco threw her phone out of a window, which the victim retrieved, McConnell said.
The woman returned to speak with Botella Pacheco and he grabbed her hair and dragged her to the front door, McConnell said.
The victim tried collecting her belongings and Botella Pacheco tackled her and attempted to strangle her again, McConnell said.
She punched Botella Pacheco in the chin and was able to flee but he chased her into the parking lot.
McConnell said Botella Pacheco slammed the victim to the ground and she was eventually able to get into a friend’s car and they went to the police station.
The victim suffered significant injuries in the attack and was transported to the hospital.
Doctors diagnosed her with a fractured nose and noted she had bleeding in her ear, McConnell said.
The woman told officers there had been prior domestic abuse in the relationship and Botella Pacheco reportedly stated that he was surprised the woman actually called the police.
Botella Pacheco is in the United States on a work visa at the elementary school with the victim.
The victim said Botella Pacheco has no ties to the community besides the job and he is likely to be terminated after the incident, McConnell said. The woman has since obtained an order of protection against Botella Pacheco.
Waukegan District 60 Director of Communications / Chief of Staff Nicholas Alatzakis told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that the district has initiated the “appropriate employment procedures” in accordance with school board policy and applicable law.
“Because this is an ongoing personnel matter, we are unable to provide additional comment at this time,” Alatzakis said.
McConnell said the State is concerned that the incident began on school property. She also said the attack was “prolonged” and involved extreme violence with a history of abuse in the relationship.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Botella Pacheco, arguing he poses a danger to the victim and poses a willful flight risk, and Lake County Judge James Newman granted the request following a detention hearing.
The judge said the incident is “shockingly” alleged to have started in a school parking lot, where Botella Pacheco is supposed to be an example to young children.
“And he is alleged to have taken a phone, gotten angry when heart emojis were sent, perhaps by his live-in girlfriend,” Newman said, noting the serious nature of the victim’s injuries and abuse she allegedly suffered by Botella Pacheco.
Botella Pacheco remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday for a case management conference.