Palatine man pleads guilty to kidnapping girlfriend’s son
A Palatine man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping his girlfriend’s son and was sentenced to 3½ years in prison. William Cruz, 31, took the boy in February after the child’s mother allowed him to accompany Cruz to a grocery store near their home, authorities said at Cruz’s February bond hearing.
After Cruz and the boy failed to return, the mother called Cruz’s cellphone and asked that he bring her son home. Cruz told her he was taking the boy to a relative’s home in Chicago, authorities said.
Police found the child unharmed the following day in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood and he was reunited with his mother, police said.
Cruz was sentenced Thursday. He was also ordered to pay $599 in fines. He received credit for 319 days he has spent in custody.