Des Plaines man to be sentenced for '75 abuse

A Des Plaines man has admitted sexually abusing two sisters in Wisconsin during summer 1975.

Ned N. Clesceri, 51, pleaded no contest this week to two charges of indecent behavior against the then-9- and 8-year-old girls. He will return to a Waukesha County courtroom in January to face sentencing.

Clesceri has acknowledged the abuse happened, his attorney Jack P. Rimland said Friday.

Pleading no contest has the same effect as a guilty plea, essentially saying Clesceri doesn't contest the charges against him. While his attorney had no comment, prosecutors say the plea is used to avoid being targeted by a civil lawsuit in the future.

Clesceri, who was 19 at the time, plans to formally apologize to the women at the sentencing hearing in January, Rimland said.

Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel said he will ask that Clesceri serve a probationary period rather than jail time.

It was possible to prosecute Clesceri despite the 32-year time gap because a Wisconsin law stops the clock on the statute of limitations from the time an offender moves out of state. Prosecutors charged Clesceri earlier this year after the two women reported the abuse to police. He entered a plea earlier this week.

"It has put some closure for them," Schimel said. "Hopefully, exposing the truth can help this family heal."

Clesceri stayed in their New Berlin home that summer as he attended college.

When the women told family members five years ago, they sought an apology from Clesceri and wanted him to seek counseling, prosecutors said.

Clesceri's attorney Rimland said his client did seek counseling. But the women said he did not, so they went to police to report the abuse.