Prophetstown man sentenced to 12 years for sexually assaulting a child

MORRISON – A 38-year-old Prophetstown man was sentenced in Whiteside County Court to 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

Zachery M. Rangel, who was to be tried Feb. 13, instead entered an Alford plea on Jan. 31 to predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

Rangel must serve 85%, or a little more than 10 years. He was given credit for two years, 118 days served.

Upon his release, he will be subject to mandatory supervised release for three years to life, and must register as a sex offender.

An Alford is a type of plea in which a defendant does not admit guilt, but instead decides it would be better to make a plea agreement or otherwise take a known sentence than to take his chance at trial.

Predatory sexual assault carries a potential sentence of six to 60 years in prison.

As part of his plea agreement, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, each punishable by three to seven years, were dismissed.

The assault happened sometime between May 1 and Aug. 15, 2019.

Other than this, Rangel’s criminal history was minor, court records show.