Jury finds Wonder Lake man guilty of sexually assaulting child

A jury on Wednesday found a 35-year-old Wonder Lake man guilty of sexually assaulting a young girl for several years.

Joshua R. Kreger was placed in handcuffs Wednesday afternoon and led back to the McHenry County Jail, where he will await a Dec. 17 sentencing hearing on a series of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse convictions.

Following a three-day trial and about two hours of deliberation, a McHenry County jury returned guilty verdicts on each of the 11 counts pending against Kreger. The most serious charge, predatory criminal sexual assault, is a Class X felony that carries a maximum 30-year sentence for each count.

Kreger was arrested in August 2019 and was accused of having inappropriate contact with the girl he knew on 10 occasions between Feb. 1, 2016, and Feb. 1, 2018, public records show.

On some occasions, Kreger would give the girl money or buy her gifts, including toys and doll clothes, after the abuse occurred, prosecutors said. The girl additionally said that Kreger threatened her and her family if she were to disclose the abuse, according to a video-recorded forensic interview played at trial. More than one year after the abuse stopped, the girl told a household member about her contact with Kreger, she said in the recorded interview.

When Kreger took the stand Wednesday, however, he denied ever sexually assaulting the girl.

The man’s attorney Michael Combs further claimed that the allegations were “embellished,” “inconsistent” and didn’t “add up.”

“(Kreger’s) accuser says one thing on one day and another thing on another day,” Combs said.

Kreger’s job also wouldn’t have allowed him enough “access” to the girl for the allegations to be true, said Combs, who also pointed to a lack of DNA and forensic evidence linking Kreger to the allegations.

“You have a complete lack of physical evidence,” Combs said in court Wednesday.

Prosecutors didn’t need DNA to shore up their case, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Newman said.

Since the abuse wasn’t disclosed for some time after it stopped, there was no injury or DNA to tie Kreger to the offenses, Newman said, noting that the situation isn’t uncommon.

“We have her word and her word’s enough,” Newman said.

Kreger, who was free on bond when his trial began Monday, will remain in custody at the McHenry County Jail until his sentencing hearing.