McHenry County judge unseals documents in 2018 Crystal Lake child sex abuse case

A McHenry County judge Friday granted prosecutors’ request to unseal an indictment and sentencing order in the 2018 case of a Crystal Lake man so other investigatory agencies can view them, court records show.

Arturo Hernandez-Pedraza, 44, was convicted in 2019 and currently is serving a 45-year sentence for sexually assaulting a girl from ages 6 to nearly 19 years old.

The investigation into Hernandez-Pedraza, a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Crystal Lake, led to charges, filed in 2020, against Jehovah’s Witnesses elders Michael Penkava, 72, and Colin Scott, 88, for failure to report the abuse to police or the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services, which they are required to do by Illinois law as mandated reporters, prosecutors argued.

Prosecutors have requested certain documents related to all three cases be unsealed as the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office has “been in contact with a number of law enforcement agencies that would like to learn more about the prosecutions and the inaccurate advice dispensed by the Legal Department in New York,” according to a motion filed in the cases.

Earlier this year at their trial, Penkava and Scott testified that after the child first reported the abuse in 2006, they followed advice from attorneys at the Jehovah’s Witnesses world headquarters in New York, who told the elders they were not required to alert authorities.

Rather, they followed the teachings of their faith and prayed with Hernandez-Pedraza, according to court testimony.

The girl reported it again when she was nearly 19 years old and elders assisted her in reporting it to police, according to court testimony.

In March, McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt found the elders guilty of not reporting the abuse to authorities. Penkava and Scott were sentenced to one year of court supervision, 10 hours of community service and $250 in fines.

On Friday, Judge Michael Coppedge granted the state’s motion to unseal documents related to Hernandez-Pedraza’s criminal case.

Prosecutors are set to argue on May 18 before Gerhardt to have documents related to Penkava’s and Scott’s trial also unsealed. Those documents include criminal complaints, the finding of guilty, testimony provided by the victim’s mother and Penkava’s testimony, according to the state’s motion.

Assistant State’s Attorney Ashur Youash declined Friday to say what agencies were interested in the documents.

Court documents show Penkava completed his community service at the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Crystal Lake, the same site where he and Scott serve as elders and where Hernandez-Pedraza was a member.

“Mike is very diligent in his work ethic and a pleasure to be around,” wrote Jeff Renfroe, who was his supervisor at the site. Renfroe wrote Penkava performed clerical and cleaning at the church for his community service.

Penkava spent 35 years as a teacher at West Elementary School in Crystal Lake and also previously wrote as a freelance columnist for the Northwest Herald.

There were no documents available related to the status of Scott’s community service.

Philip Prossnitz, Penkava’s attorney, said they have chosen not to file an appeal of the conviction.

“Although we disagree with the trial judge’s ruling, the sentence was temperate (and) it can be expunged,” Prossnitz said in a text message. “My client is elderly and he has suffered enough. My client followed a lawyer’s advice to his detriment. Four lawyers spent a year debating whether my client was or was not required to report. My client was forced to make that decision in a matter of minutes. It’s time to close out this chapter in his life.”

Attempts Friday to reach Scott’s attorney were not successful.