A Libertyville man has been charged with sexually assaulting multiple children, including while he was a student at Deerfield High School, and prosecutors say a custodian found him with one of the victims in a school closet.
Andrew S. Bentkover, 24, of Libertyville, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child, two counts of criminal sexual assault, three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and six counts of criminal sexual abuse of a child.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Eduardo Zermeno said Bentkover sexually abused three children, which occurred from 2015 to 2018, and that the facts in each case are corroborated.
The Lake Forest Police Department began investigating and the Deerfield Police Department later took over the investigation.
One female victim suffered a change in her demeanor and attitude. She started doing poorly in school and began going to therapy, Zermeno said.
She also had to go to a different school because she did not want to go to Deerfield High School with Bentkover anymore.
A family member of the second victim told officers that Bentkover had access to the girl while babysitting her.
The family member reported that he walked in on Bentkover in the girl’s bed with her. Bentkover later apologized in a text message, Zermeno said.
The family member reported that the victim’s demeanor changed after the assault, calling her shy and afraid.
An investigation by Deerfield High School in 2019 was also reported involving Bentkover sending nude photos to the second victim as well as other juveniles, Zermeno said. Bentkover also allegedly sent them “porn scripts.”
Police learned of a Snapchat account that was deleted in 2023 after the first victim came forward.
A custodian reported walking into a closet and finding Bentkover and a third juvenile victim, who was a middle schooler while Bentkover was a high schooler, Zermeno said.
A school record was made and the incident was documented. A photo was also found of the two of them in the high school hallway, which the prosecutor said there was “no reason for her to be there.”
The mother of the third victim reported a change in behavior after the disclosure of abuse.
She started being isolated, having nightmares, committing self-harm and suffering PTSD, Zermeno said.
Zermeno said it was “remarkable” the similarity between the offenses. Bentkover used his male friend to gain access to little sisters, Zermeno said.
All three victims described sending nude photographs to Bentkover after being solicited, Zermeno said. Two of them mentioned “porn scripts.”
Zermeno said Bentkover threatened all of the victims and specifically told the second victim that he would kill her if she told anyone or stopped him.
Zermeno said Bentkover used a knife to threaten the second victim and used it on her, cutting her thigh. She still has a scar to this day.
Bentkover was convicted as an adult in a separate case in Utah for sexual battery of a young woman.
“These are all tend to corroborate each other because it provides propensity evidence that this defendant has propensity to commit sexual assault against women,” Zermeno said, adding that Bentkover poses a danger to all females.
The prosecutor argued that the acts were not isolated and it was a product of “premeditation, deliberation, predatory” behavior.
Bentkover used his position of trust and being older and physically larger to abuse, manipulate and coerce the girls, Zermeno argued in court, adding that the suspect said to one victim, “I’m sorry I raped you.”
Attorney Robert Deters, who is representing Bentkover, said there is no physical evidence despite a three-year investigation, which began in 2022 when one of the victims heard about Bentkover’s Utah conviction and came forward.
Deters said there was no evidence that Bentkover has done anything since the alleged offenses to silence or intimidate any of the victims.
The attorney said that while the offenses are serious, there is no reason to think his client continues to pose a threat to the community and asked a judge to release him pending trial with pre-trial conditions.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition to detain Bentkover that was filed by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The judge said that the delay in an outcry by the victims is not uncommon in sexual assault cases and he believes Bentkover still poses a danger to others despite the amount of time that has passed since the alleged offenses.
Bentkover remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear for a case management conference on July 13.