Jury convicts Streamwood man of sexually assaulting 14-year-old
DNA doesn't lie, prosecutors insisted Wednesday during closing arguments in the case of a Streamwood man accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl who bore his stillborn child.
That DNA was among evidence that led jurors to convict Juan Torres, 47, of aggravated criminal sexual assault and three counts of criminal sexual assault.
The verdict Wednesday, which followed 50 minutes of deliberations, concluded a three-day trial during which jurors watched Torres admit in a videotaped statement to authorities on Jan. 24, 2015, that he'd had sex with the victim. The girl, now 17, testified Torres sexually assaulted her repeatedly between July and December 2014.
Torres, who showed no emotion during testimony or during the verdict announcement, faces natural life in prison when he is sentenced, possibly as early as Aug. 11, when he next appears in court.
Dramatic testimony came Wednesday from forensic biologist and DNA expert Christopher Webb of the Illinois State Police Forensic Science Laboratory in Joliet.
Webb testified tests showed a 99.99 percent probability Torres fathered the victim's baby boy, who was stillborn at 17 weeks in 2015, shortly after Torres was arrested.
Torres' attorneys questioned the credibility of the victim, who told police Torres assaulted her about 10 times and told jurors he assaulted her every other day. They also questioned why she didn't reveal the abuse to anyone until December 2014, when an over-the-counter test confirmed her pregnancy.
Cook County assistant public defender Joe Gump attempted to raise doubt by pointing out scientists didn't perform DNA tests on the fetal tissue until months after they received it.
"We don't know what happened from the time the evidence was dropped off at the state police crime lab," Gump said.
Cook County assistant state's attorney Jaclyn Lantz stated in her closing argument that authorities maintained a proper chain of custody and properly preserved the evidence.
Lantz praised the victim for whom climbing the steps to the witness stand was akin to climbing Mount Everest.
"She was brave. She was courageous," Lantz said. "She pointed out (Torres) in open court and told all of you what he did to her."