CICERO—A registered sex offender from Cicero was charged with criminal sexual assault for the sexual abuse of two 13-year-old girls, which occurred Aug. 7, 2012.
Burbank police said 35-year-old Fernando Gonzalez, of 5036 W. 29th Place, Apt. 2, lured the girls one by one into his vehicle in Owens Park, and took pictures of the girls within the vehicle. Upon taking each girl's photo, Gonzalez began making physical contact with each girl while inside the vehicle.
The victims supplied officers with limited information and investigators continued working leads over the past several months. As investigators revisited their leads, investigators located Gonzalez on the Illinois State Police Registered Sex Offender website. Gonzalez matched the description of the offender and further investigation led to Gonzalez being positively identified as the offender in this investigation.
Gonzalez registers as a sexual offender stemming from an incident that occurred in North Riverside in 2000.
Gonzalez was taken into custody Jan. 23 at his home.
Burbank Police Lt. Michael Dudlo said this was a case that was not going to go unsolved.
"Our investigators worked diligently on this case and never gave up," he said. "It's unfortunate that young people naively trust people they shouldn't."
Gonzalez was brought to the Bridgeview Courthouse for a bond hearing on charges of criminal sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a child and presence within a park zone.
Bond was set at $100,000. Police said other charges may be pending.
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