Seven-year sentence in New Year's assault

A Freeport man pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse stemming from an incident that occurred Jan. 1 at a Palatine Holiday Inn Express.

Robert Douglas Ford, of the 1400 block of S. Carroll Ave., Freeport, received seven years in prison in exchange for his guilty plea to the class two felony, which carries a sentence of six to 30 years.

A female acquaintance of the defendant sobbed quietly at the back of the Rolling Meadows courtroom during Tuesday's sentencing by Cook County Judge Thomas Fecarotta.

Prosecutors say that at about 2:30 a.m. New Year's Day, Ford, 37, approached a woman in the hotel's elevator and asked her where the party was. After she responded "nowhere," Ford pushed her against the elevator walls and fondled her, said Assistant State's Attorney Mike Clarke.

"He has a prior history of these types of offenses," said Clarke, referring to Ford's 1996 conviction for criminal sexual assault, for which he received nine years in prison. As a condition of that sentence, he had to register as a sex offender. His current sentence requires him to do the same.