Mount Prospect rapist sentenced to 90 years
The Mount Prospect man who sexually assaulted a 97-year-old woman nearly two years ago will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after Cook County Judge Steven J. Goebel sentenced him Friday to a total of 90 years in prison.
Jurors convicted Frank Mendez, 53, of aggravated criminal sexual assault and home invasion in May.
Goebel sentenced Mendez on Friday to 30 years in prison, the maximum, for the sexual assault and 60 years in prison for the home invasion.
Goebel ordered the sentences be served consecutively.
Even with credit for the time Mendez has spent in Cook County jail since his Sept. 24, 2015, arrest as well as time off for good behavior, he faces more than 50 years behind bars, prosecutors said.
The victim didn't live to see her attacker tried and convicted, but her family attended the sentencing hearing where her daughter-in-law delivered the family's victim impact statement.
Mendez broke into the woman's first-floor apartment in an Arlington Heights assisted living facility on Aug. 20, 2015, struck and assaulted her and then fled when a security guard responded to the woman's medical alert signal.
An Illinois State Police forensic scientist testified no semen was found on the woman, but DNA from saliva found on her neck and arm matched that of Mendez.
In addition, experts matched finger and palm prints found at the scene to Mendez.