Church volunteer gets 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting child
A Round Lake church volunteer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child aged 13 to 17, authorities said.
Roberto D. Almeida, 43, of the 1200 block of West Oriole Court, is required to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole, Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Jason Grindel said.
Almeida was granted 463 days for time already served in Lake County jail. He is required to register as a sexual predator for the rest of his life, and undergo sex offender testing and treatment while in prison, Grindel said.
Almeida was sentenced to prison Wednesday after pleading guilty Jan. 5 to one count of criminal sex abuse in front of Judge Victoria Rossetti.
He could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison at the hearing. Charges of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Almeida, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a lifelong resident of Illinois and has no previous criminal background.
Grindel said the accuser told counselors in December 2014 that he was abused by Almeida, who was serving as a volunteer at a church. Authorities have declined to identify the church or say where the abuse occurred.
Almeida initially assumed the role of a mentor, Grindel said, but that mentorship turned to sexual assault. The assaults are believed to have occurred before and after the boy's 13th birthday, Grindel said.