Crystal Lake man found guilty of exposing himself to child 15 years ago

A Crystal Lake man was found guilty for exposing himself to a child as she walked to her school bus 15 years ago Monday.

Juan Mendez-Campos, 50, of the 100 block of Columbine Street, was found guilty by a jury this week of one count of public indecency. Mendez-Campos faces up a year in McHenry County Jail when he’s sentenced Dec. 6.

For three consecutive days in October 2009, Mendez-Campos “exposed and gratified himself” in front of a child “as she walked to her school bus,” according to a McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office news release. Mendez-Campos exposed himself at the corner of Pauline and North avenues near Crystal Lake when he was 35, according to the 2009 complaint. The incident was reported to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, and a warrant was issued.

“Fifteen years later, to the day, on Oct. 28, 2024, Mendez-Campos was held accountable for the trauma he inflicted upon the now-adult victim, which still impacts her today,” the state’s attorney’s office said in the release. “The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office commends her bravery in making herself available to confront her victimizer all these years later.”

McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Keneally thanked the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office in the release for their investigative efforts and Assistant State’s Attorneys Maria Marek and Joseph Tarczon for their prosecution.

“This office will continue to vigilantly prosecute sexually motivated offenses against minors in our communities regardless of time passed,” the state’s attorney’s office said in the release.