Highwood man charged with sexual assault of co-worker at Vernon Hills restaurant

A Highwood man was charged with sexual assault after police said he forcibly kissed a 19-year-old woman at the Vernon Hills restaurant they worked at, police said.

On April 16, police say 44-year-old Victor Manuel Martinez-Lopez pulled the victim toward an interior wall at a restaurant in the 1200 block of S. Milwaukee Ave. The victim's father, who also works at the restaurant, told police he watched Martinez-Lopez pin his daughter against the wall and kiss her even though she struggled to resist him, according to a news release from the Vernon Hills police department.

Police said they apprehended Martinez-Lopez, of the 300 block of Ashland Ave. in Highwood, at another business he worked at after an investigation conducted with officials from the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center.

Martinez-Lopez was charged with criminal sexual assault, unlawful restraint and battery, according to the release. He is being held at the Lake County jail on a $100,000 bond and is due in court May 29.