$3M bond for man charged with sexually assaulting a child in Hebron

A northwest Indiana man’s bond has been set at $3 million for sexually assaulting a child in Hebron last month and then was found by authorities hiding under a bed in an apartment building in Iowa.

About 9:30 a.m. Oct. 13, deputies responded to a 911 call that 26-year-old Esau Ancheyta-Hernandez had sexually assaulted a child at a residence in Hebron, according to a statement from the McHenry County sheriff’s office. After being confronted by his family members, Ancheyta-Hernandez ran away.

A large search followed including multiple K-9s, drones and a helicopter in the area of Hebron Road and the Illinois/Wisconsin State Line, sheriff’s police said. Officers from the U.S. Marshals Southern Iowa Fugitive Task Force acted on the information provided by the sheriff’s office.

Ten days later, investigators pinpointed Ancheyta-Hernandez’s location in Ames, Iowa, sheriff’s police said. Officers forced open a locked bedroom door at the apartment and found Ancheyta-Hernandez under the bed.

Ancheyta-Hernandez was taken into custody Oct. 23 and faced Illinois charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, sheriff’s police said. He was being held at the Story County Jail in Iowa on $250,000 bond.

On Wednesday, Ancheyta-Hernandez was charged with five additional counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13, according to a statement from the McHenry County sheriff’s office Monday afternoon. His bond was increased to $3,000,000 after he arrived at the McHenry County Adult Correctional Facility.

Ancheyta-Hernandez was previously deported from the U.S. in 2012 after being arrested in southern California, sheriff’s police said.