Waukegan man sentenced to 21 years for molesting child

A Waukegan man was sentenced to 21 years in prison Monday for repeatedly molesting a victim under the age of 13 during a six-year span.

Jose Hernandez-Tovar, 54, pleaded guilty to two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault in front of Lake County Judge James Booras.

Hernandez-Tovar was given 10½ years in prison for each count as part of the negotiated plea deal. The two sentences are to be served consecutively, Booras said in court.

Hernandez-Tovar is also required to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before being eligible to be paroled. He must be placed on probation upon his release from prison for an additional three years to life, and he is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Another 16 felony counts that included charges of predatory criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, possession of child pornography, and unlawful video taping a victim under 18 were dropped as part of the negotiated sentence.

Had the case gone to trial, authorities said, Hernandez-Tovar could have been sentenced to life in prison.

Assistant State's attorney Jason Grindel said the sex assaults took place between January 2007 and March 2013. Hernandez-Tovar knew the victim, and the sex offense was discovered after a family member found text messages from Hernandez-Tovar to the victim. The victim was over 13 years old when the text messages were discovered, Grindel said.

Defense attorney Jed Stone said Hernandez-Tovar had been abused sexually and physically when growing up in Mexico. He said Hernandez-Tovar ran away from home when he was 14 and lived on the streets of Acapulco.

"This is a pattern this court has seen all too often," Stone said while Hernandez-Tovar wept silently next to him in court. "There must be something better to do than to send them to prison to die."