8 years prison in $353,000 theft from St. Charles business

A 32-year-old St. Charles man was sentenced to eight years in prison Friday for stealing more than $350,000 from his employer in a 3.5-year span.

Adam R. Gornowich, of the 100 block of Walnut Drive, also must repay the money after his prison term is over.

Gornowich pleaded guilty in September to theft, a felony that carried a range of four to 15 years in prison, and was sentenced by Kane County Judge James Hallock.

According to prosecutors, Gornowich made unauthorized purchases of items for personal use totaling $353,000 between June 2011 and December 2014 while working for a business on the 2300 block of Dean Street in St. Charles.

After the employer told police about the theft, Gornowich was arrested in March 2015 and confessed to police, according to prosecutors and court records.

He can have his sentence cut in half for good behavior in prison and gets credit for about 20 months served at the Kane County jail, where he was held on $100,000 bail while the case was pending. Gornowich did not have any previous arrests in Kane County before the theft case, records show.