Prosecutors: Rolling Meadows man waited for men to leave before assaulting women
A 35-year-old Rolling Meadows man was ordered held without bail Thursday and accused of sexually assaulting two women at knife point and attempting to rape another in the apartment complex where he lives.
Prosecutors say Miguel Gonzalez-Cruz, of the 4000 block of Algonquin Parkway, assaulted the women after a husband, boyfriend or other male left their homes.
According to prosecutors, the first assault took place Dec. 28, 2016, in an apartment occupied by the accuser and a witness. After the witness' husband left, Gonzalez-Cruz - wearing a hoodie that obscured his face below his nose - knocked on the door and asked several times for someone named "Jesus," prosecutors said. The witness told Gonzalez-Cruz no one by that name lived at the address. At some point, the hoodie fell, revealing the defendant's face, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Gates. The defendant quickly covered his face as the witness closed the door, Gates said.
The accuser, who was asleep in her bedroom, awoke to noises and discovered Gonzalez-Cruz - who prosecutors say entered from an open window - on top of her with his hands over her mouth and eyes.
The woman began screaming and Gonzalez-Cruz fled, but not before the witness saw him exiting through the window, Gates said. The witness subsequently identified Gonzalez-Cruz as the man who came to her door.
Another attack occurred on Jan. 14 shortly after a second accuser's husband left her and her three young children alone in their apartment. Soon after the husband left, the woman heard a knock at the door, Gates said. Thinking her husband had forgotten something, the woman opened the door and encountered the defendant, who used his foot to prevent her from closing the door, Gates said.
Gonzalez-Cruz forced his way into the home, displayed a knife and demanded money, Gates said. The woman said she had no money.
"The defendant told the victim she would have to pay in another way," Gates said.
Gonzalez-Cruz, who was wearing a mask that partially covered his face, then pushed the woman onto a bed, ordered her to remove her clothes and assaulted her, Gates said. DNA taken from the woman matched Gonzalez-Cruz, Gates said.
The third assault took place June 30, shortly after the accuser's boyfriend left the apartment. According to Gates, Gonzalez-Cruz approached an open window where the woman was standing and asked her to "let him inside as immigration was after him."
She refused initially but relented after he persisted, Gates said. Once inside, Gonzalez-Cruz forced her into her bedroom, took out a knife, ordered her onto the bed, placed a sheet over her face and sexually assaulted her, Gates said. Afterward he pointed the knife at her and ordered her into the bathroom, telling her he would have "people come get" her if she called police. DNA taken from the woman matched Gonzalez-Cruz, Gates said.
Police arrested Gonzalez-Cruz Tuesday after one of the accusers saw him in a store and recognized him as her attacker, Gates said.
In addition to aggravated criminal sexual assault, Gonzalez-Cruz faces charges of home invasion and residential burglary. If convicted, he faces from 50 to 170 years in prison. He next appears in court on Dec. 21.
Judge Jill Cerone-Marisie noted the violent charges, DNA evidence, identification and possibility of a lengthy prison sentence in ordering Gonzalez-Cruz held without bail.
"He's a danger to public safety," she said.