Prosecutors ready to investigate claims, if necessary
Many of you reading this may have voted already.
But if you have not and plan to go to the polls Tuesday, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office will be staffing a hotline for people to report voter fraud and other violations, such as electioneering.
The complaint hotline at (630) 208-5328 will be staffed from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. It’s set up for voters who might see or experience problems or irregularities at any of the county’s 228 precincts. The line will be staffed by prosecutors prepared to make site visits and investigate if needed.
Voters that have general election questions, such as where to vote, should not call the complaint hotline.
The Kane County Clerk’s Election Helpline is (630) 232-5990 and can provide information about polling places and related topics.
8 years for sex assault: A 33-year-old Aurora man recently was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a teenage girl.
José M. Ruiz-Ramirez, 33, of the 300 block of North Ohio Street, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual assault in exchange for the prison term.
Kane County Circuit Judge David Akemann accepted the plea reached with Kane County prosecutors.
Between July 1 and Nov. 30, 2011, Ruiz-Ramirez had sexual contact with the victim at least 10 times at his residence, according to prosecutors. The victim was younger than 18 at the time.
Ruiz-Ramirez must register for life as a sex offender under the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act.
He also must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, and was given credit for about 11 months spent in the Kane County jail while his case was pending.
Aurora police and the Kane County Child Advocacy Center investigated the case and it was prosecuted by assistant state’s attorney Debra Bree.
Elgin rapist sent to prison: A 51-year-old Elgin man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl.
Griffin E. Taylor, of the 2000 block of Muirfield Circle, was sentenced by Judge David Akemann for raping a girl younger than 18 on Nov. 8, 2008, at a business in the 100 block of East Chicago Street in Elgin.
Taylor pleaded guilty in August to one count of criminal sexual assault, a felony that carried a top sentence of 15 years. Taylor must register for the rest of his life as a sex offender after his prison term is over.
He must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, and he was given credit for about eight months spent in jail while his case was pending.
Elgin police and the Kane County Child Advocacy Center investigated the case and it was prosecuted by assistant state’s attorneys David Belshan and Debra Bree.
hhitzeman@dailyherald.com