Judge finds Lisle man guilty of home invasion, sexual assault
Throughout the course of his four-day trial, Roberto Noyola made no opening arguments, no objections, questioned no witnesses and ultimately failed in his closing argument.
The 41-year-old former Lisle man, who represented himself and used a Spanish interpreter throughout the trial, now faces between 24 and 60 years in prison after being convicted Friday of six counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and one count of home invasion in a case that dates back 18 years.
Early in the morning on Feb. 7, 1999, Noyola approached a 63-year-old woman's Lisle apartment and knocked on her patio door, prosecutors said. Thinking it was a friend, she began to open the door.
Once she realized she did not know the person, the woman tried to close the door, but it was too late.
Once inside, Noyola is convicted of physically and sexually assaulting the woman, leaving her with wounds to her face and shoulder.
The woman, beaten and bleeding from a cut on her chin, eventually made her way across the hall to the apartment of a longtime friend, who testified that she helped call 911 and attempted to comfort the victim.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said, Noyola fled to Chicago and then to Kentucky and Mexico before being incarcerated in Texas on unrelated charges.
In October 2013, a national DNA database matched Noyola's DNA collected at the scene of the crime to a sample taken from him during his Texas incarceration.
On Feb. 27, 2014, Noyola was extradited from Texas and returned to DuPage County to face the charges.
The victim was still alive when Noyola was arrested, but she died in January 2015 at the age of 78.
Judge Robert Miller, who presided over the bench trial, said assistant state's attorneys Jennifer Lindt and Mike Fisher went "far beyond" their burden of proving Noyola's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Seventeen years ago, (Noyola) forced his way into his victim's home where he proceeded to commit unspeakable acts against an unsuspecting, innocent woman," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said following the ruling. "While justice may have been a long time coming, today (Noyola) learned that he will be held responsible for the horrendous acts he committed so many years ago."
Noyola's next court appearance is scheduled for June 15.