Man sentenced to 23 years for molesting girl

It was his job to protect her.

Instead, Bruce M. Krebs molested the girl, beginning at age 13, for three years until she finally made an outcry to her mother.

Krebs was sentenced Thursday to 23 years in prison for sexually assaulting the girl while she was in his care in the Downers Grove and Oak Park areas.

Krebs, 58, must serve nearly all of the prison term before being eligible for parole. As he heads to prison, Krebs still is maintaining his innocence.

But a DuPage County jury that heard evidence in the arduous trial earlier this year determined otherwise. They convicted the Oak Park man after hearing the girl's testimony and other evidence, such as hotel records with his credit card information that back up her account of what happened.

DuPage Circuit Judge Kathryn Creswell sentenced Krebs, who is appealing his conviction to a higher court.

The girl, now 21, flew in from out of state to read her victim-impact statement Thursday to the judge. She told Krebs he ripped her family apart and forced her to live each day with the memory of what he did to her.

During the trial, prosecutors Ann Celine O'Hallaren and Liam Brennan argued Krebs showered the girl with money, electronics and other gifts to lull her into a false sense of security and trust, while he preyed upon the child sexually. The abuse occurred from 2000 and through 2003.

Krebs must register as convicted sex offender upon his release from prison. The married accountant did not have a prior criminal history.