Man gets 20 years for sexually abusing Glendale Hts. 7-year-old

Last summer, when police arrived at a Glendale Heights home to investigate the possible sexual assault of a child, they found the young girl had locked herself in a basement out of fear.

Calling the child's attacker a predator, DuPage Circuit Judge Perry Thompson sentenced the man Wednesday to 20 years in prison for molesting a 7-year-old girl after befriending her family.

Luis E. Flores must serve 85 percent of the prison term. He faced six to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty July 17 to predatory criminal sexual assault.

Flores apologized before being sentenced.

The 23-year-old single father of four children, ages 5 to 1, asked for mercy so that he could be free soon to support his children. The restaurant dish washer with a sixth-grade education did not have a significant criminal history.

Police arrested him Aug. 30, 2007 after investigating a complaint from the child's uncle, who said the girl made an outcry to him.

Prosecutors said Flores confessed in an audio-recorded police interview.

"This court needs to send a message that sexual molestation of children in this county will not be tolerated," prosecutor Enza LaMonica said. "The conduct did not occur once or twice, but seven different times. He took advantage of a young girl when her parents weren't around and betrayed their trust."

The child's mother described how she felt after learning of the sexual abuse.

"I felt sick," she wrote in a letter to the judge. "I could not believe he could hurt my innocent daughter. (She) once was happy and affectionate. Since this happened, she cannot trust anyone and often looks very sad."

At the time of the crime, Flores admitted drinking 15 to 20 beers daily. He has attended several substance abuse treatment classes while being held in the DuPage County jail this past year on a $1 million bond.

Flores, who has four known aliases, entered the country illegally in December 1999, according to court records. Immigration officials plan to deport him back to Mexico upon his release from prison.