Former Aurora man gets 12 years for sexual assault

A former Aurora man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting a woman in 2013.

Damien Dickens, 40, pleaded guilty in November 2018 to one count of criminal sexual assault, and DuPage County prosecutors agreed to cap their sentencing recommendation at 12 years. Dickens must serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

Dickens was accused of bringing a woman he met on the evening of June 24, 2013, to the vacant Aurora townhouse in the early morning hours of the next day. When she attempted to leave, Dickens blocked her and then sexually assaulted her, authorities said. He was identified as a suspect through a match in the state's DNA database.

He was apprehended in June 2016 and has been in custody since then.

"Judge (Robert) Miller's 12-year sentence sends the message that if you are convicted of sexual assault in DuPage County, you will find yourself behind bars for a very long time," DuPage State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement.