Man charged in 2001 sexual assault at West Chicago apartment complex
Alberto Gomez
WEST CHICAGO, Ill. - Bond has been set for an Arizona man charged with the 2001 sexual assault of a woman at a West Chicago apartment complex.
Alberto Gomez, 51, has been charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, three counts of criminal sexual assault, one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of criminal sexual abuse.
On Nov. 25, 2001, the victim was alone in her apartment when she awoke to a man, later identified as Gomez, standing in her bedroom.
Gomez allegedly pushed the victim down on the bed, put his hand over her mouth, struck her multiple times and then sexually assaulted her.
Prosecutors say Gomez then fled the apartment, at which time, the victim called West Chicago police.
At the time of the assault, Gomez allegedly lived in the West Chicago/Warrenville area.
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Last year, the West Chicago Police Department learned of a DNA hit from the sexual assault kit collected in 2001.
Prosecutors say that the DNA swabs were recovered from the victim following the assault and that they were consistent with Gomez's DNA.
Gomez's DNA was obtained after he was detained for illegal re-entry into the United States.
"The identification of a man suspected in a more than two-decade-old sexual assault sends the message that in DuPage County, we will never give up on a case or a victim," said DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin. "While a case this old may have gone cold, it remained active, and I commend the West Chicago Police Department for their efforts that allowed us to charge Mr. Gomez with the sexual assault of a defenseless woman."
A judge set Gomez's bond at $5 million. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on illegal re-entry charges last November. He was transferred to the DuPage County Jail last week, where he currently remains.