A Highland Park man pleaded guilty today to aggravated criminal sexual assault, avoiding a possible 90 years in prison for his attack on a woman as she walked along a bike trail in July 2009.
Under the terms of the plea, Eduardo Franco, now 22, will face a minimum of 6 years and a maximum of 25. He will also serve a minimum of 3 years to life parole following his sentence and have to register as a sex offender for life, Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Reginald Matthews said.
The victim, a then 32-year-old Highland Park woman, exited the Metra train at the Ravinia station about 1:20 a.m., on July 15, crossed the tracks and was attacked from behind when she was walking north on the Green Bay Trail, Matthews said.
Franco's attorney, James Schwarzbach, told Judge Christopher Stride that his client was pleading guilty in an effort to take responsibility for his actions and because he is aware of "the importance of not having to force the victim to relive what happened."
Stride told Franco that by accepting the plea, he was avoiding the possibility of three mandatory consecutive sentences if he was found guilty of the charges.
"So what you've done by entering into this negotiation is limit your exposure (to prison time)," Stride said.
Matthews said that the main concern for him and his co-counsel, Assistant State's Attorney Marc Bangser, was to ensure that the sentence will be long enough.
"First and foremost, our concern is always the victim and society"” he said. "In addition, we wanted to spare the victim from having to relive such a violent assault."