5 years prison for sex offender who abused girl at Elgin pool

A 28-year-old sex offender has been sentenced to five years in prison after admitting to sexually abusing a girl at the Wing Park pool in Elgin in July 2018.

Jose T. Barboza-Lopez, of the 700 block of Walnut Avenue, Elgin, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse in exchange for Kane County prosecutors dismissing other, less severe charges of public indecency, battery, and child sex offender in a public park, according to court records.

Barboza-Lopez was arrested July 2, 2018, and charged with sexually abusing a girl older than 13 but under 17 at the pool, 1030 Wing Park St.

Barboza-Lopez also was charged with exposing himself while underwater to four children, and grabbing one child, a girl, by her ankle and pulling her toward him when she tried to swim away and rubbing another boy's arm while he played volleyball in the pool, court records show.

A grand jury later indicted Barboza-Lopez in August 2018, upgrading the indecency charges to sexual exploitation of a child, a felony.

Kane County Judge David Kliment accepted the guilty plea to the sexual abuse charge, which carried a prison term of three to seven years but also was eligible for probation, records show.

Barboza-Lopez was deemed a sex offender after his conviction for misdemeanor sexual exploitation of a child stemming from an arrest in September 2011 involving a girl under 17, according to court records.

Barboza-Lopez pleaded guilty in August 2013 and was sentenced to: a year of probation; 40 days in jail, of which he would have to serve 20 days; 160 hours of community service; and to complete and comply with a sex offender evaluation, court records show.

However, in March 2014, he was sentenced to 364 days in jail for violating his probation because he had a positive drug test and failed to report to the probation department. He later argued to have that sentence and his guilty plea vacated because he didn't have an attorney present, records show.

Judge D.J. Tegeler convicted Barboza-Lopez after a bench trial in November 2015. Part of the sentence required Barboza-Lopez to register as a sex offender, complete counseling and serve 182 days in jail, records show.

Under state law, Barboza-Lopez can have his prison sentence cut in half for good behavior. He also gets credit for 425 days served at the Kane County jail while his latest case was pending.