Judge acquits man in Elk Grove Village rape case

Of the five men charged with raping a teenage girl at a drinking party at an Elk Grove Village motel last October, only Edgar Barboza stood trial.

Authorities say his co-defendants - Mount Prospect residents Edgar and Jose Loeza and Ruben and Uriel Sanchez - fled to Mexico. A warrant for their arrests was issued last November.

Barboza, a U.S. citizen from Carpentersville, remained. And on Monday, a Cook County judge found him innocent of criminal sexual assault following a bench trial in a Rolling Meadows courtroom.

Announcing his finding, Judge Thomas Fecarotta acknowledged rape as "one of the worst crimes that can be perpetrated against any human being," but stated that the evidence did not support a finding of guilty.

The victim, now 18, testified that she had attended several such drinking parties in the past and that nothing bad happened. Fecarotta sympathized with her, but acknowledged that people sometimes "put themselves in the position of being victimized," because they're unaware or ignorant of potential danger.

"But putting herself in that position doesn't justify what happened to her," he said.

Assistant State's Attorney Mike Gerber referenced the victim's poor choices in his closing statement.

"Was this the most intelligent thing she had ever done? No," said Gerber. "Did she want to have sexual relations with all these men? A resounding no."

Prosecutors acknowledged that the physical evidence excluded the defendant, who is a student at ITT Technical Institute. The victim herself testified that while the defendant was present in the motel room, she could not tell if he was among her attackers. Lastly, the judge noted that the assistant state's attorney who interviewed Barboza initially summarized his statement instead of taking it down verbatim. For the statement to be considered a confession it has to be accurate, Fecarotta said.

Defense attorney James P. Tatooles said he a good feeling about the outcome, adding that Barboza maintained his innocence all along.

During his closing statement, Tatooles insisted that his client's presence at the scene didn't translate to criminal liability. He also emphasized that neither physical evidence nor the victim's testimony linked Barboza to the assault.

"She never really pointed the finger at him. There was no positive identification of him as being a perpetrator," he said.