Elgin man gets jail, probation for Fox River Trail attack

An Elgin man who attacked two women on the Fox River Trail was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 30 months of probation Friday by a judge who said he was skeptical the man could meet the terms of the probation.

Francisco Cruz, 21, was found guilty in June of the September and December 2009 aggravated batteries and unlawful restraints. The two victims were jogging on the Fox River Trail north of Interstate 90. He grabbed one woman around the waist. The other victim was hit at least three times in the head with a tree branch.

He could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison.

Associate Judge Allen Anderson blistered Cruz before pronouncing the terms. Cruz had asked for leniency so he could take care of his young son.

“I’m not sure a child is going to benefit from Mr. Cruz if his (Cruz’) direction in life” doesn’t change, Anderson said, noting Cruz did not finish high school and had juvenile adjudications for underage drinking and possession of marijuana. “Are you going to take the child to the jogging trail and say, ‘This is where I attacked two women?’

“Is this the child I can look forward to seeing if I were to be here in another 20 years?”

Anderson went on to say that the victims’ senses of safety in a public place were eroded by the attacks.

“I’m told your son needs you. I don’t know that we need a child raised with your mental state and attitude,” Anderson said.

He also said that “probably the only saving grace” for Cruz regarding sentencing was his “incompetence in carrying out” the attacks. Cruz had been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for the tree branch attack, and aggravated unlawful restraint, but Anderson ruled he was not guilty of those charges.

Cruz will receive credit for the 64 days he has spent in the Kane County jail awaiting trial and sentencing. Once out, he will spend the first 12 months in the county’s Intensive Probation program, reporting to officers three to four times weekly. He will have to perform 130 hours of community service with the Elgin Police Department, obtain his high school diploma equivalency, get a full-time job, and undergo psychological evaluation by the Kane County Diagnostic Center, with an emphasis on self-control and discipline.

He’s not supposed to use drugs at all nor drink alcohol during the Intensive Probation. He also can’t visit any parks or public recreational facilities, and will be subject to a curfew.