McHenry County man sentenced to 13 years for sexually assaulting family member

WOODSTOCK – A man convicted of sexually assaulting a family member continued Friday to deny that he was responsible for the crimes moments before a McHenry County judge sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

"I didn't rape her and we didn't have sex," Miguel Gomez told Judge Sharon Prather.

The 37-year-old McHenry County man was convicted in March on two counts of sexual assault by force and one count of grooming after he entered a stipulation – meaning he did not contest the prosecution's facts of the crimes but did not admit to them.

The girl, whom he lived with at the time of the incident near Union, was 15 years old, prosecutors said. Additional charges were dismissed against him by the state's attorney's office.

Even though he had already stipulated to the facts of the case, he insisted Friday that the charges against him were "false" and wanted to proceed without his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof.

Prather told Gomez it was not in his best interest to proceed without an attorney, despite his objections. Gomez continued to deny the charges against him, but said he wanted the judge to "do whatever she was going to do."

"You are either guilty or not guilty Mr. Gomez, what is it?" Prather asked the defendant.

Despite his accusations that the state's attorney's office presented "convenient" evidence and he was "set up," Gomez said he would proceed with the sentencing hearing.

The victim's mother said Gomez moved in with them in 2014 because he reached out and "needed help." The family also helped him find employment, she said. When she found out what Gomez did, she said she was devastated and now has a hard time trusting anyone.

"Miguel Gomez robbed something that didn't belong to him," she said through a Spanish translator, referring to her daughter's virginity. "He also destroyed me.

"I am not the same person after Miguel Gomez raped my daughter."

Assistant State's Attorney John Gibbons said the damage Gomez did has left "emotional and mental" scars on the victim that are irreversible. He said Gomez was out on bond from pending charges in Wisconsin when he sexually assaulted the victim. He also was previously charged with battery in 2006.

"He is a thankless parasite that latched onto a hardworking family," Gibbons said. "He deserves to go to prison for a long time."

Behof said his client's past criminal history is relatively minor and he's worked most of his life to support his children. Behof also presented letters of support from Gomez's children to the court.

Gomez, when given the opportunity to speak, said it was time his family finally knew the truth.

"We could have had sex. If I would have followed her games then we would have had sex," Gomez said, speaking directly to the family present in the courtroom.

He said he hopes that one day his family will forgive him, and that God will forgive the victim for not telling the truth.

"You wouldn't know the meaning of the truth if it bit you on the face," Prather told Gomez before she sentenced him. "I do not believe a word out of your mouth."

Prather sentenced Gomez to six years in prison for each sexual assault by force charge and one year in prison on the grooming charge. Each sentence will run consecutively to one another, and the sexual assault charges must be served at 85 percent, according to state law.

Additionally, he will serve a period of mandatory supervised release that ranges from three years to natural life. Gomez, who is an undocumented immigrant, also faces deportation to Mexico.

Before being taken back into custody, Gomez said he planned to sue the state's attorney's office for filing "false charges" against him.

"Well then you better get yourself an attorney, Mr. Gomez," Prather said to the defendant as he was taken away.