A Chicago public schools security guard is facing charges that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. The guard was suspended pending an investigation and now more allegations have surfaced. The security guard is now facing two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor. The students, who are 15 and 16, say that the security guard touched them inappropriately. Both students were male. The second victim informed his mother of the incident, which is when authorities became involved. They traced their way back to a second victim.
What is Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse?
Aggravated criminal sexual abuse, as opposed to criminal sexual abuse, is sexual abuse plus any one of a number of aggravating circumstances. Aggravating circumstances include the use of a weapon during a sexual assault, the use of drugs to induce a sexual assault, a victim over 60 years of age, or a minor victim when the attacker is an adult. In most cases, aggravated sexual assault is considered a second-degree felony in Illinois. However, when an adult perpetrator and minor victim is involved, it escalates to a class-one felony.
Class-one felonies have sentencing ranges between four and 15 years. In this case, the defendant could face a maximum of 30 years on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor. His sentence is likely to be on the higher end since, at the time of the assault, he was in a position of authority as a CPS employee.
Defenses for Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse Charges
It generally happens that one victim comes forward and then more victims come forward. In some cases, kids understand that they can get adults into trouble by making serious allegations against them. They do not understand how completely they will ruin the lives of the people they accuse, but they do know it will provoke some kind of response by authorities and this will make the defendant very uncomfortable. In these cases, their stories do not usually add up. Kids are not great planners, and while they can lie, and sometimes do effectively, they generally do not build stories that survive multiple efforts to discredit. Further, in cases where kids do lie about adults, they generally present a united front together. It does not happen like this. These kids will not go to their parents first to make these allegations. Kids tend to confide only in people whom they trust. So, their parents are often the first to hear. The parents then go to the police. Police interview the suspect and the victim. When the two stories are in conflict, it is typical that one of them does not completely add up.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney Today
Are you facing serious criminal charges in the Chicago area? Call Chicago criminal defense attorney David Freidberg today at (312) 560-7100 and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.