McHenry County judge sentences man to 13 years in prison for assaulting, abusing two young girls

A McHenry County judge Monday sentenced a Waukegan man to 13 years in prison and ordered he register as a sex offender for life after he pleaded guilty to charges alleging he sexually assaulted and abused two young girls.

Homero Alcaraz-Bello, 52, entered into a negotiated plea to one count of Class X predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 and one count of Class 2 felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a second child younger than 18 who is a family member.

In exchange for his guilty plea, 10 additional charges were dismissed. The case was investigated by the Woodstock Police Department, court records show.

Had Alcaraz-Bello gone to trial and been founded on the most serious Class X charge, he could have faced up to 60 years in prison, McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge said.

Instead, he received 10 years in prison on the one count of Class X, which he will serve at 85%, and three years on the Class 2, of which he is required to serve 50%.

He also is required to pay $3,715 in court fines and fees, submit to medical testing for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and serve mandatory supervised release from three years through his natural life.

He also faces the potential of being evaluated and deemed a sexually violent person. If that happens, he could be held in prison until he is found to no longer be sexually violent, Coppedge said.

Alcaraz-Bello “knowingly” assaulted a girl who was seven years old in 2014 and abused another girl who was six year old and to whom he was related, Assistant State’s Attorney Ashur Youash said.

Youash said the girls and their family, who were not present in the courtroom Monday, were aware of the negotiated plea and in agreement with its terms.