Palatine man charged with sexually abusing 12-year-old
A Palatine man who held a pocket knife at his own throat when police attempted to arrest him faces charges he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl.
Barnassey Thomas, 34, was ordered held on $750,000 bail Monday on charges of predatory criminal sexual assault, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Thomas was supposed to help the girl hang posters in her room on Saturday.
Hearing whispering, the girl's mother entered the room and saw Thomas performing a sex act, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Alyssa Grissom.
Thomas fled as the woman called police. Later, when police tried to apprehend him, Thomas pulled out a pocket knife and held it to his throat, refusing to obey officers' instructions to drop it, Grissom said.
Thomas' attorney, Assistant Public Defender Rosario Spaccaferro, said his client is a Navy veteran who was discharged due to a disability that resulted from an injury.
Judge Jill Cerone-Marisie ordered Thomas have no contact with anyone under age 18.
Thomas next appears in court on Nov. 10.