Crystal Lake man captured after fleeing sex assault charges

A Crystal Lake man who police say attempted to flee the area with his 2-year-old child to avoid sex assault charges was captured at a friend's south suburban home over the weekend and now is being held in the McHenry County jail.

Zdzislaw J. Papuga, 36, remained in custody Monday on $750,000 bond charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault stemming from incidents in 2006 involving a child younger than 13.

The victim and the child with whom Papuga attempted to flee are not the same, authorities said.

McHenry County Sheriff's detectives began investigating Papuga Friday after receiving an anonymous fax suggesting he had been sexually abusing a child.

Investigators spoke with the child later in the day at the McHenry County Child Advocacy Center and then obtained a warrant for Papuga's arrest.

When deputies went to Papuga's home to serve the warrant, they learned he had caught wind of the investigation, taken his 2-year-old daughter and fled the area, Lt. Donald Carlson said. Sheriff's police later managed to reach Papuga by phone and negotiate the release of the girl to members of his family.

Using cell phone technology, Carlson said, sheriff's personnel and members of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Task Force tracked Papuga to a residence in Bolingbrook and arrested him without incident early Saturday morning.

Papuga, who faces six to 30 years in prison if found guilty of the charges, is scheduled to appear in McHenry County Circuit Court Feb. 22.