Former Dist. 300 teacher who repeatedly sexually assaulted student gets 112 years
A Kane County judge on Friday sentenced a former Carpentersville elementary school substitute teacher to 112 years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a student.
"Abusing a child is horrific, horrendous and must stop," Judge D.J. Tegeler said before imposing the prison term on Carlos A. Bedoya, 60, of Lake in the Hills. "It has horrible effects on the child. What this court is doing today doesn't bring anyone back to before this all occurred."
Bedoya was charged in summer 2017 with sexually assaulting the former student. The student's mother said Friday that her son feels responsible for what happened to him, is depressed and will never be whole again.
"My son had his innocence stolen from him and his desire to live. Because of all this, my son will never be the same," the mother wrote in a letter that was read by a Spanish interpreter.
After Bedoya's initial arrest, more students came forward to accuse him of abuse.
In August, a jury found Bedoya guilty of sexually assaulting the victim multiple times from August 2015 to June 2016. The victim was younger than 13 at the time and was Bedoya's student at Golfview Elementary School in Carpentersville.
The assaults occurred at Bedoya's home, at Springhill Mall in West Dundee and at the library in Golfview, where Bedoya worked as a substitute teacher.
Bedoya was convicted of eight counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, which carries a sentence of six to 30 years. He faced a sentence ranging from 48 to 240 years in prison Friday.
"Carlos Bedoya is a predator who seeks out vulnerable children. His criminal behavior is appalling, and his interest in kids is only for his own perverted gratification," said Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon, who thanked the victim for his courage. "He (Bedoya) belongs in prison for a very long time so he can no longer be a threat to children."
Under state law, Bedoya must serve 85% of his sentence, which is about 95 years. He gets credit for more than three years served at the Kane County jail while the case was pending.
Bedoya is charged in five other cases with sexually abusing other children. He is next due in court on those charges Nov. 15.
Also, several students and their families have sued Dundee Unit District 300 and Bedoya for damages. Those cases have been consolidated and are next up in court on Dec. 4.