Palatine man charged with sexually abusing 2 girls

A $200,000 bond was set for a Palatine man charged with sexually abusing two young girls, videotaping the acts and storing the images on a laptop.

Francisco Villa, 54, appeared in bond court Saturday after being charged with one count each of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and aggravated child pornography, both Class X felonies, and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony. Villa faces up to 30 years without probation for the Class X felonies and additional sentencing for the Class 2 felony.

Villa allegedly abused the girls, ages 8 and 10, multiple times from June 2009 through late May by performing sexual acts with them, using a camcorder and then transferring the images to his laptop, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Bill Cotter.

In late May, the girls told their mother, who then contacted the Palatine police. After an investigation, the laptop, camcorder and images were found.

Judge Samuel Betar also ordered Villa not to have any contact with the victims. A hearing was scheduled for June 28 at the courthouse in Rolling Meadows.