Garcia Sentenced to 52 Years for Glen Ellyn Home Invasion & Sexual Assault

DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph E. Birkett announced today that Fernando Garcia, 32 (d.o.b. 6/05/71), of 385 Spruce Lane in Glen Ellyn was sentenced today to fifty two (52) years in connection with the January 13, 2002 Home Invasion and Sexual Assault of a 19 year old woman. Judge Ann Jorgensen sentenced Garcia to eight (8) years in prison for each of the five (5) counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault, one count of which merged into the sentence for the Home Invasion, for which he received an additional twenty (20) year sentence. Garcia had pleaded guilty to the charges, but sentencing had been continued until the defendant had had the opportunity to consult a mitigation expert. 

The facts raised in court revealed that at approximately 2:15 a.m. on January 13, 2002 the Glen Ellyn Police responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a sexual assault at a Glen Ellyn apartment building located at 385 Spruce Lane. Upon arrival, officers learned that at approximately 2:10 a.m. that morning, an unknown male assailant had entered an apartment through a bedroom window and, by the use of force, sexually assaulted a 19 year old woman.

During the course of the investigation, residents of the apartment complex notified the police that the composite sketch based upon the victim’s description looked like a resident of the building, Fernando Garcia. Authorities met with Garcia, and he agreed to provide a DNA sample for investigative purposes. However, before the DNA sample could be obtained, the defendant fled the jurisdiction. A warrant for Garcia’s arrest was issued in late February 2002 and in early March he was taken into custody by the Denton Police Department, just outside of Dallas, Texas. Following his return to Illinois, State’s Attorney Birkett approved felony charges against Garcia, including Home Invasion and Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault, both Class X felonies. 

"I am extremely pleased with today’s sentence imposed by Judge Ann Jorgensen," commented State’s Attorney Birkett. "What this young woman went through in the early morning hours of January 13, 2002 was horrifying. To be awakened in your own home by an unknown assailant and then sexually assaulted would be a terrible nightmare for any woman, but when it actually happens, the injuries sustained are both psychological as well as physical. In this case, though, thanks to the collection of DNA in a state-wide database, the system worked for this young woman, and this defendant has been held accountable for this crime. Although this sentence doesn’t erase in her mind what happened to her, I hope it will bring some kind of closure to this horrible chapter in her life."