Man gets 27 years in prison for sexual assault, abuse of child
An Elgin man was sentenced Friday to 27 years in prison for sexually assaulting and abusing an 11-year-old girl.
Jacob Gutierrez, 35, of the 200 block of Douglas Avenue, was sentenced by Kane County Judge John Barsanti.
A Kane County prosecutor asked for a 65-year prison term.
Barsanti convicted Gutierrez of four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in January. Gutierrez maintains he is innocent. On Friday, Barsanti denied his request to reverse the conviction.
The victim was 11 years old at the time and had an intellectual disability, according to the prosecutor who spoke at the sentencing hearing Friday. The prosecutor submitted a victim impact letter from the girl’s grandmother that stated the girl now has thoughts of hurting herself as a result of the assault.
Gutierrez knew the girl. The assault and abuse started happening in 2018. He was charged in 2023.
The sentence is 24 years for the predatory criminal sexual assault, and he will have to serve 85% before being eligible for parole. Once done with that sentence, he must serve three years for the sexual abuse. He will have to serve at least half of that portion of the sentence. He received credit for the two years he has been in jail since his arrest.
He could have been sentenced to as many as 240 years on the predatory criminal sexual assault charges.
Gutierrez will have to register for life as a sex offender.