Bail set at $3 million for Palatine man charged with sexual assault
A Cook County judge set a total bail of $3 million for a 27-year-old Palatine man charged with sexually assaulting two children about 10 years ago.
Fernando Garcia is charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a then-9-year-old girl and aggravated criminal sexual assault of a then-6-year-old boy. Both are class X felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Garcia began assaulting the girl in August 2006 when she was in fourth grade and he was about 17 years old.
According to Cook County assistant state's attorney Maureen McGee, Garcia threatened to hurt the girl's sister if she told anyone about the abuse, which authorities say continued until May 2008.
Between October 2004 and May 2005, prosecutors say Garcia showed the boy pornography and sexually assaulted him. After attending a school assembly on sexual assault last year, the now-17-year-old accuser told his girlfriend and parents about the sexual abuse.
The teenager and his family learned that Garcia had traveled back to Mexico. Garcia returned to the United States earlier this month, a few days after the accuser reported the assault to the police, according to McGee.
Judge Joseph Cataldo ordered Garcia to have no contact with the accusers, according to prosecutors. Additionally, Garcia must surrender his passport and any firearms and his Firearm Owners Identification card, if he has one.
He next appears in court on Sept. 2.