West Chicago man convicted of child abduction, sexual abuse
A West Chicago man who prayed to God to let him have sex with 1- to 14-year-old children, whom he referred to as angels, has been convicted of a series of crimes against children.
DuPage County Judge Robert Miller convicted Giuseppe Ressa, 35, of the 300 block of Post Oak Circle of five counts of child abduction and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse Thursday, following a three-day bench trial which featured the testimony of several children.
Prosecutors said Ressa approached a group of children, ages 3 through 7, on the evening of May 27, 2015, at a playground in Lisle's Arboretum Village apartment complex and suggested they play hide-and-seek.
One of the victims, a girl, now 9, testified that Ressa grabbed her wrist and attempted to pull her into an apartment vestibule while the other children hid and another child had his back to them while counting to 30.
"Why was he there in the first place?" Assistant State's Attorney Cathy DeLaMar asked in her closing arguments Thursday. "Is he such an avid fan of hide and seek that he just can't resist when he sees kids on a playground starting up a game?"
Other children testified about Ressa's attempts to lure them back to his car or into nearby apartment buildings with the promise of candy and toys.
"I found all of the children to be credible," Miller said, "The defendant certainly wasn't the Good Humor man handing out free candy."
After the reports of his behavior May 27, 2015, Lisle detectives were following Ressa on June 1, 2015, when they saw him talking to three children outside an Addison apartment building. Ressa gave the children candy and told them he would give them more if they accompanied him to another building, authorities said.
Two of the children - a 4-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl - followed him into a vestibule in an apartment building. While talking to the children inside the building, Ressa rubbed the girl's thigh, officials said.
At that point, detectives entered the building and asked Ressa what he was doing. He gave numerous reasons why he was there but admitted he gave the children candy, officials said.
"Lies," DeLaMar said. "All he can come up with are lies when he's approached by law enforcement."
DeLaMar said a search of his car and his room at his parents' home turned up notes Ressa appeared to write about all his encounters with children, some of them even written on the backs of bank receipts and note cards. In many of the notes, which DeLaMar read in court Thursday, Ressa prayed to "have sex with angels" and that "kids will desire to have sex only with (him)."
"This defendant encapsulates every parents' worst nightmares," DeLaMar said.
Ressa's attorney, Richard Kayne repeated is claims that the case was "overcharged" and questioned some of the children's memories.
"Stories have tendency to grow over time, and they grow more to the benefit of prosecutors and detrimental to the defendant," Kayne said. "I'm sure it's unintentional embellishment as time goes on."
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin commended the children after Ressa's conviction. "This case should serve as a notice to parents to remind their children that there are some very dangerous people in the world and that if approached by a stranger, they should get away from that person and tell a trusted adult," Berlin said.
Ressa's next court date is scheduled for April 19, for return of the pre-sentencing report and sex offender evaluation.