Hoffman Estates man gets 18 years for sex abuse of 11-year-old

Cook County Judge John Scotillo sentenced 52-year-old Elias Leon to a total of 18 years in prison Wednesday for sexually abusing a young girl.

A jury convicted Leon of three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault in September. Leon, of the 500 block of Hill Drive in Hoffman Estates, could have been sentenced to between six and 30 years on each count. Scotillo sentenced Leon to six years on each count. The sentences will run consecutively.

At the sentencing hearing, defense attorney Lawrence Sommers called a lifelong friend of Leon's and Leon's 26-year-old son to testify on the defendant's behalf. Both men described Leon as a loving father with no history of violence and a dedicated employee who never missed a day of work.

Assistant state's attorney Karen Crothers requested substantial jail time for Leon who abused an 11-year-old girl from April 2004 to September 2006.

Leon took away the victim's innocence and sense of security, said Crothers.

"She will never grow up to be the young woman she could have been had he not violated her repeatedly," she said.

In his request for leniency, Sommers urged Scotillo to consider the totality of Leon's life, citing the mitigation testimony, and reminding the court that his client had no other criminal background.

"The ability for Mr. Leon to be rehabilitated is certainly indicated by the testimony," Sommers said.

In imposing the sentence, Scotillo spoke about it as deterrent and punishment as well as the need to protect society and allow for the possibility of rehabilitation.

"The three charges of which he was convicted are some of the most serious charges in our penal code and thus require serious penalties," he said.