West Chicago man who raped, imprisoned young girl gets 10 years in prison

A West Chicago man who imprisoned and repeatedly raped a young girl over a four-year period was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison by a judge who said he had “violated the most basic norms of civil society.”

Nicacio Jaimes-Moreno, 52, stopped the girl, to whom he was related, from going to school in the fourth grade and sexually abused her for several years.

He moved her from Michoacan, Mexico, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, then Ligonier, Indiana, then LaGrange, Indiana, before ending up in West Chicago. In each town, he allowed her out of the house only under his supervision, so that she could not escape or tell anyone what had happened to her, prosecutors said. Authorities finally intervened only after the girl escaped and alerted an aunt in early 2011.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge John Tharp said that Jaimes-Moreno’s crime was all the worse because he had deprived the girl of an education. After hearing from an advocate for the girl, the judge added that he would have given Jaimes-Moreno more than the legal maximum of 10 years in prison, had he been able.

“We could have an interesting conversation about which type of rapists are the worst, but this is near the top of the list,” Tharp said.

“The defendant in this case is not your average rapist,” he said.

Tharp said that it was a “near certainty” that Jaimes-Moreno, who has six children, would be deported to Mexico when he completes his sentence.

Jaimes-Moreno showed no reaction as the sentence was announced.

Prosecutors said the victim, who was present in court, has been able to rebuild her life but will always be scarred by Jaimes-Moreno’s crimes. But Jaimes-Moreno’s lawyer had argued that the girl’s mother, who also is an immigrant, had overstated the seriousness of Jaimes-Moreno’s crimes in an attempt to bolster her own chances of staying in the country.

Tharp, though, said there was “overwhelming” evidence against Jaimes-Moreno.

He noted that Jaimes-Moreno had a stash of illegal weapons when he was arrested and described him as “a danger to the community.”

“This is not the only case like this out there, and that is why its absolutely vital for the law to show its condemnation,” he said.