Elgin girl's abuser gets eight years

A 27-year-old Addison man was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting a girl in her Elgin home in November 2006.

Robert Vinson, who was found guilty this summer after a bench trial, must register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victim or her family ever again.

Vinson should be behind bars for a little more than six years. He must serve 85 percent of the term but was given credit for six months in jail since his arrest in March.

Vinson was the live-in boyfriend of an Elgin woman when he sexually assaulted the woman's 14-year-old daughter, who was one of three children in the home. He faced between four and 15 years in prison.

The mother told Judge William Weir her family has been torn apart by Vinson's actions and she feels she failed as a parent to protect her kids.

"I let this horrible monster into their world," she said.

Vinson's mother, Dorothy, tearfully apologized to the victim's family and for not being a better single mom.

"I wasn't there as much as I should have been and I apologize for that. And I want to apologize to the victim (and her family)," she said.

The apology moved Vinson himself to tears, and he asked Weir for leniency.

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life," he said.

Weir said the fact Vinson had a caring mother and still hurt others made the situation even worse. As much as Vinson wanted to turn back the clock, that can't happen, Weir said.

"We can't un-shoot the gun. We can't un-stab the knife and we can't un-abuse the victim, who will carry these scars for the rest of her life, as will her family," the judge said.

Prosecutor Christine Bayer asked for a 10-year term. She cited Vinson's two prior burglary convictions, one of which landed him in prison for four years.

Defense attorney Robert Lewin asked for a four-year sentence.