Prospect Heights man sentenced to 11 more years for sex abuse of child in DeKalb, McHenry counties

SYCAMORE – A Prospect Heights man already in prison for sexually assaulting a female child in DeKalb and McHenry counties recently was sentenced by a DeKalb County judge to another 11 years for the same crime.

Steven D. West, 40, of the first block of Prospect Heights, is already serving his 24-year McHenry County prison sentence he received on Nov. 1, 2021 regarding the same victim. West has been in police custody since his arrest on March 2, 2020, according to the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said West repeatedly sexually assaulted a female minor that he knows starting in the summer of 2010, according to court records. Prosecutors said West assaulted the child over the course of several years and at multiple residences, including in DeKalb and later in Lake of the Hills, a village in southeastern McHenry County.

The victim told prosecutors West would get her alone in the homes and inappropriately touch her and assault her, according to the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“I truly admire the strength this young survivor has demonstrated by seeking help in holding her abuser responsible for the disgusting things he did to her,” DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato said in a news release. “There is no description that can accurately account for the torment she had to experience as her family moved from residence to residence only to be continually sexually assaulted at each one by this monster. I hope our survivor can finally start to experience the peace that everyone should be able to feel in the sanctuary of their own home as her abuser will serve (the) majority of the next three decades in prison.”

West faced six to 30 years in prison for the Class X felony.

According to the state’s attorney’s office, West must serve 85% of his 35-year sentence. He’s been given credit for his 1,192 days served since his 2020 arrest.

West pleaded guilty to predatory criminal sexual assault on Nov. 1, 2021, in McHenry County. West also previously was charged in March 2020 with additional counts of predatory criminal sexual assault as well as multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child younger than 18 in the same case, court records show. Those charges stemmed from incidents which allegedly occurred between 2010 and 2013.

In exchange for pleading guilty to the Class X felony in the Lake of the Hills case, the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed the other charges, according to court records.

On June 7, West pleaded guilty again for predatory criminal sexual assault of the same victim in front of Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick in DeKalb County, according to court records.

The investigation included the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office, DeKalb Police Department, the Lake in the Hills Police Department and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant State’s Attorney Monique Langrehr lead the prosecution.

Shaw Local New Network’s Emily K. Coleman contributed.