Former Carpentersville man sentenced to life in prison for assaulting girl

A former Carpentersville resident was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for the sexual assault of a minor.

James E. Melvin, 40, was convicted in December of predatory criminal sexual assault and six counts of aggravated predatory criminal sexual abuse. Melvin, most recently of the 1200 block of South Court Street in Rockford, waived his right to a jury trial, according to a news release from the Kane County state's attorney's office.

The sexual assault occurred on Feb. 27, 2009. The victim, who was under the age of 13, told her mother, who immediately called the authorities.

Melvin initially pleaded guilty in 2009, but an appeals court determined the plea was improper in 2015. The case then went to Kane County Circuit Judge James C. Hallock's court.

Melvin's life sentence is mandatory because he had been convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault in 1998 in Cook County.

Melvin must also register for life as a sexual offender.