Bensenville man gets 18 years for sexually assaulting young relative

A northwest suburban man prosecutors called a “sexual predator” was sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old relative, a crime that came to light when the girl’s young sister saw the suspect kissing her.

DuPage County Judge John Kinsella on Friday sentenced Armando Morales-Velazquez, 36, who had pleaded guilty on March 23, to one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

“This young victim was forced to endure a terrible sexual assault committed by a family member who had moved in with the family for a brief time,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “Mr. Morales-Velazquez took advantage of the kindness his family showed to him by sexually assaulting their ten-year-old daughter just to satisfy his sick sexual desires.”

Prosecutors had charged that from November 19, 2015, through March 1, 2016, Morales-Velazquez sexually assaulted the girl at her home while he stayed with her family for a short time.

“The assault was uncovered after the victim’s younger sister told her mother that she saw the defendant kiss the victim,” prosecutors said. The girl’s then called Bensenville police, who arrested Morales-Velazquez on April 8, 2016. He had been held on a $1 million bond since his arrest.

“I would like to thank the mother of the victim for bringing this matter to our attention as soon as she was alerted to Mr. Morales-Velazquez’s behavior,” Berlin said. “Thanks to her cooperation, we were able to build a very strong case against Mr. Morales-Velazquez resulting in today’s eighteen-year sentence.”

Morales-Velazquez will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence and must register as a sex offender for life, prosecutors said.