Probation, jail for former Naperville firefighter in sex abuse case
An Elburn man and former Naperville firefighter was sentenced to four years of intensive sex offender probation after pleading guilty to charges from two cases in 2017.
Richard L. Herra, 50, of the 400 block of East Reader Street, also served nearly 16 months in jail while the cases were pending and must register as a sex offender for life, according to prosecutors.
Herra was arrested and charged in September 2017 with indecent solicitation of a child, attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse and indecent solicitation of a child through the internet after authorities said he knowingly contacted someone younger than 17 and asked to engage in a sex act. Herra believed he was meeting the victim, but the victim called police, authorities said.
After he was released on a personal recognizance bond, Herra was arrested days later and charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse stemming from an incident in July 2017.
Herra pleaded guilty late Tuesday to one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in one case and one count of indecent solicitation in the other, prosecutors said.
Kane County Judge Clint Hull accepted the guilty plea in which prosecutors dismissed the remaining charges.
Defense attorney Earl Vergara said he was thankful Hull gave his client a chance to take responsibility and change.
"Mr. Herra was an upstanding citizen, He was a fireman, he saved lives. This is the first time he's been in trouble," Vergara said, noting Herra served almost 20 years as firefighter. "He's accepted full responsibility. It's an aberration. He's extremely remorseful for it."
Herra served 481 days at the Kane County jail where he was held on $100,000 bail while the cases were pending. Under the plea agreement, he was released from jail Tuesday.