advertisement

Lake County jury rules man guilty of kidnapping and sex assault at Beach Park motel

A man with ties to Lake County was found guilty of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in a multistate crime spree that started in Georgia and ended in a Beach Park motel room.

It took a jury about two hours to find Cristian De La O Hernandez, 24, guilty on charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault in the case in which he has already been found guilty in Georgia of murdering the victim's friend in the early morning hours of May 1, 2012.

Hernandez, who has a last known listed address on the 6100 block of 20th Street in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is facing 27 to 75 years in prison on the Lake County charges. He was sentenced to life in prison in Georgia on the murder conviction, prosecutors said.

He is being held in Lake County jail on $1 million bail.

"The defendant used (the victim) as a tool for his own sexual amusement," Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Eric Kalata said during closing arguments Friday. "She did not consent."

Lake County sheriff's deputies and members of the U.S. Marshal's Service arrested Hernandez on May 2, 2012, at the American Inn Motel on Sheridan Road in Beach Park.

Authorities said Hernandez met the two Georgia women at a dance club in DeKalb, Georgia, and persuaded them to go with him to a different bar across town.

While riding in a car driven by one of the women, Hernandez pulled out a handgun and began firing shots out the window. He pointed the gun at the driver and ordered her to let him drive.

After getting behind the wheel, Hernandez ordered the second woman to have sex with him, Kalata said. When she didn't, Hernandez shot and killed her friend, Kalata said.

Hernandez left the murdered woman's body and her car at the first Georgia bar and picked up his own vehicle and forced the second woman inside, authorities said.

The murder victim, her car and the surviving woman's purse were found by police in Georgia about six hours later.

Kalata said Hernandez sexually assaulted the surviving woman once in Georgia before picking up a friend. All three drove to Lake County.

Along the way, Hernandez sexually assaulted the woman again at a highway gas station, and a third time at the Beach Park motel, Kalata said.

The victim was rescued after she was able to text a friend for help, Kalata said. That friend phoned police.

Defense attorney Jeff Facklam told jurors during closing arguments that Hernandez was framed by the victim and the third person who made the trip from Georgia. He said common sense shows no motive for the crime.

"What happened to (the murder victim) was definitely tragic," Facklam said during closing arguments. "But you do not convict on emotion. You convict on evidence."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.