Mother's persistence leads to arrest in child sex assault

A Texas mother did not let up in her pursuit of justice, and that led to the arrest of a Mundelein-area man accused of child sexual assault.

Patrick H. Tillman, 30, of the 24300 block of West Old Oak Drive in unincorporated Lake County, was arrested Tuesday by Lake County sheriff's deputies for a 2019 aggravated sexual assault of a female child under the age of 14 in Houston, authorities said.

Tillman, who had been living in Houston and had a warrant for his arrest there, was traced to Lake County through tips from the victim's mother, who provided information to authorities that he might be living in the Lake Zurich area with extended family.

Tillman had made stops in Hawaii and New York before settling in Lake County.

“The mother was relentless in her pursuit of locating this man,” said Sgt. Christopher Covelli, public information officer for the sheriff's office. “Her tip helped us find him. A lot of times, if people know the fugitive, they know best where that fugitive could be hiding.”

The woman and the victim knew Tillman, Covelli said, but he could not specify the nature of the relationship, pending the investigation.

Warrant deputies conducted surveillance on the residence on Old Oak Drive and determined Tillman was living there with his wife. Tillman was arrested without incident Tuesday.

He was transported to the Lake County jail and had a court hearing Wednesday. He is held on no bail and is next due in court June 9.

The investigation and arrest was a collaborative effort involving the Lake Zurich Police, the Lake County Sheriff's Office Warrants team and the U.S. Marshals Service — Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force.