Guilty plea for sexual contact with 15-year-olds

A 28-year-old Palatine man pled guilty Thursday to having sexual contact with two 15-year-olds.

Cook County Judge Thomas Fecarotta sentenced Joseph Singer, of the 200 block of Broadmoor Court in Palatine, to 30 months probation and ordered him to register as a sex offender for engaging in sexual conduct with the minors earlier this year. Fecarotta also prohibited Singer from contacting the victims.

"You need to find girls your own age or near your own age," Fecarotta said during the hearing in the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court.

Singer, who Fecarotta noted has no prior criminal history, pleaded guilty to two amended charges of criminal sexual abuse, a class 4 felony that carries a sentence of one to three years in prison with the possibility of probation. The sentences will run concurrently. Victims' families expressed to the court their satisfaction with the sentence.

Police say Singer met the teenagers at an area restaurant. Before sentencing, he apologized to them, their families and the court.

"I know what I've done is wrong," Singer said, adding, "I apologize to my family for putting them through this."