Shorewood man gets 36 years for sexual assault of girl

A 60-year-old Shorewood man was sentenced Thursday to 36 years in prison for the sexual assault of a girl who was 8 years old when he began abusing her.

Thomas Holley pleaded guilty to a count of predatory criminal sexual assault and a count of criminal sexual assault in January, according to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“It took tremendous courage for this girl to come forward and tell the truth about the abuse she suffered at his inimical hands,” State’s Attorney James Glasgow said. “Because of her bravery, Thomas Holley will spend what should be the rest of his life in prison where he can never harm another innocent child.”

The girl told a friend about the abuse in 2015 and then told a social worker at her school, prosecutors said. When investigators searched Holley’s home, they found cameras, computers and portable hard drives that were used to record and keep files of Holley assaulting the girl.