Highland Park man gets prison for molesting girl

A Highland Park man was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday for molesting a young girl at least 11 years ago.

Benito Cruz, 55, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse during a hearing before Lake County Circuit Judge John Phillips.

Assistant State’s Attorney George Pappas said a student at Highland Park High School went to the school’s resource officer on Feb. 19, 2010 and complained that Cruz had been making sexually suggestive remarks to her.

In addition, Pappas said, the girl told the officer that Cruz had made references to encounters he had with an 8-year-old girl several years ago.

Highland Park police contacted Cruz, and he agreed to come to the police station and answer questions about what the girl had told the resource officer.

During the questioning, Cruz admitted he had molested the 8-year-old several times while renting a room in her mother’s house between November 1999 and April 2000.

Police were able to locate the girl, whose parents had moved but were still in the area, and she gave police a statement confirming what Cruz had said.

The usual statute of limitations did not apply in this case, Papas said, because victims of sex crimes have 10 years after their 18th birthday to report the crimes to police.

Cruz was arrested Feb. 23, 2010 and has been held on $100,000 bail since.

Phillips accepted the negotiation that called for the six-year prison sentence and told Cruz he would likely face deportation to his native Mexico once he had served his time behind bars.

Cruz asked Phillips to speed up the deportation process.

“You have a good heart and I would like you to send me home now,” Cruz told Phillips. “My mother is about to die and I could receive her blessing.”

Phillips replied that he had no power to order Cruz deported and could only send him to prison under the terms of the plea negotiation.

Pappas said Cruz could have faced up to seven years in prison if he had been convicted after a trial.