Grayslake man gets 15 years for molesting child

A Grayslake man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for repeatedly molesting a young girl.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney James Newman said the sexual contact between Tim Yeung, 50, and the victim was so frequent between 2001 and 2003 that neither one could provide police with a number of the attacks.

Yeung, of the 900 block of Cambridge Drive, was arrested Nov. 9 after the girl, who is now 17 years old, told a counselor about the abuse.

The counselor called the state Department of Children and Family Services, who in turned called Grayslake police after Yeung confessed.

He was charged with multiple counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and could have faced 120 years in prison if convicted after a trial.

But, as Yeung's attorney Elizabeth Vonau told Circuit Judge John Phillips, Yeung insisted on pleading guilty to spare the girl the trauma of a trial.

He pleaded guilty to a single count of the crime on July 10 and was eligible for up to 30 years on Wednesday.

Vonau asked Phillips to impose a sentence six to 10 years, the low end of the scale, because of his contrition.

“He encouraged (the victim) to go to the counselor knowing what would happen to him and it did, Vonau said. “He wanted to plead guilty and take responsibility.

Newman asked Phillips to impose a “considerable sentence on Yeung because of the depth of the damage he did.

“We have an individual who could do what he wanted to this child and did, Newman said. “We cannot know at this point what the long-term effect on her will be.

In his own statement to the court, Yeung said he was ashamed of what he had done to the victim.

“With a remorseful and contrite heart I beg for your forgiveness of my sins against you, Yeung said. “I have committed the most heinous crime against you.

Phillips said he was taking Yeung's contrition into account, but that a severe sentence was still necessary punishment for the crime.

Yeung will be required to serve 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for parole and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life