A southwest suburban man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in the early 2000s.
Fred Mack Jr. was found guilty of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child on Aug. 23, according to the Will County State’s Attorney Office.
Mack, now 65, assaulted the girl, who knew him as a family friend and pastor, on several occasions between September 2002 and July 2004, prosecutors said.
The victim, now in her 20s, reported the assault to Bolingbrook police in 2016, prosecutors said. She filed the report while she was working in a dance production that dealt with sexual abuse.
She testified that Mack molested her as many as 100 times when she was left alone with him, prosecutors said. Mack claimed he molested her less than 25 times.
“This woman showed remarkable courage coming forward years after she was assaulted by this predator,” State’s Attorney James Glasgow said a statement.
He credited police and prosecutors for their efforts “to finally bring him to justice.”
Glasgow said he hopes the verdict prompts other victims to come forward.
“These are often difficult cases to prove, but the the General Assembly has given us latitude with the statute of limitations so that predators who counted on the vulnerability and silence of their underage victims can still be held accountable.”
