Repeat Child Sex Assault Offender Given 17-Year Prison Sentence: Weis

PLANO, IL — A repeat child sexual offender was sentenced to 17 years in prison last week, Kendall County State's Attorney Eric Weis said Tuesday.

Jose Juarez-Hernandez, 69, was found guilty of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse during a bench trial in April. Kendall County Judge Robert Pilmer issued the man's sentence.

The man will serve about 13.5 years in prison before being eligible for mandatory supervised release. He will be required to register for life as a sex offender.

The charges against Juarez-Hernandez stem from July 2020. The victim, now an adult, reported to the Plano Police Department that Juarez-Hernandez, who was his mother's boyfriend, had been sexually assaulting and abusing him from ages 5-13 years old. The victim said the man committed multiple acts of sexual penetration on him at a home in Plano.

The Kendall County State's Attorney's Office lists Juarez-Hernandez's current address as being in Plano, while the Kendall County jail booking provides an Oswego address.

"The victim contacted the police after seeking therapy for the trauma he had suffered at the hands of Juarez-Hernandez," reads a news release from the state's attorney's office.

It wasn't the first time Juarez-Hernandez sexually abused a child, officials said. He was previously convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a young girl. The woman testified at his recent trial and was "instrumental in securing a guilty verdict."

"[Weis] also praised the victim for his courage to come forward after all these years, describing in detail the disturbing sexual abuse he had endured for many years, and his testimony regarding these multiple incidents," the news release states.