Rapist pleads guilty for attacking elderly woman

OTTAWA -- A Peru man who was accused of raping and robbing an elderly Mendota woman earlier this year has pleaded guilty to the charges.

Twenty-seven-year-old Emerson Reyes-Hernandez pleaded guilty Friday in LaSalle Circuit Court to two counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of robbery.

Reyes-Hernandez will serve two consecutive 14 year sentences for the two sexual assault charges and one 4 year sentence for robbing the woman. He must serve at least 85 percent of the two terms for sexual assault before he is released.

According to prosecutors, Reyes-Hernandez in March punched an elderly woman at the Mendota Amtrak station, dragged her to the bathroom, and performed sexual acts on her before stealing her cell phone.