Former Carpentersville man faces life sentence for raping 3 children

A former Carpentersville man whose brother was convicted more than a decade ago of sexually assaulting three children faces life in prison after his conviction this week of repeatedly sexually assaulting the same three children, prosecutors said.

Robert E. Craig, 48, now of Hampshire, was convicted late Thursday of 11 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and six counts of criminal sexual abuse. Craig faces 11 consecutive, mandatory life prison terms when sentenced by Judge John Barsanti March 9.

Kane County Assistant State's Attorneys Lori Schmidt and Reagan McGuire presented evidence at trial that multiple times between 1999 and 2010 Craig sexually assaulted the three victims, who are siblings. All were younger than 13 at the time and the assaults took place in Carpentersville.

During that same time, Craig's brother, Richard E. Craig, 56, also of Carpentersville, sexually assaulted the children, prosecutors said. He was charged in 2005, pleaded guilty in 2006 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In 2014, one of the victims told a school counselor she also had been sexually assaulted by Robert Craig. The counselor alerted the Department of Child and Family Services and a new investigation was opened.

"The horrific facts about the Craig brothers' actions came to light because someone made a report to DCFS on behalf of these three victims. I cannot stress enough the importance of making a report when someone suspects such abuse. Anyone can make a report," Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon said. "Robert and Richard Craig are child predators. Their crimes stole a normal childhood from these children. Their place is not in a civilized society but prison. And after that they both will have one more judgment to face."

Craig has been held at the Kane County jail since his arrest in March 2015.