Crime & Safety

$1M Bail Set for Convicted Sex Offender Accused of Assaulting Two 13-Year-Old Girls

Five-month investigation led to arrest of Cicero man for alleged sexual assault on Burbank girls.

Bail has been set at $1 million for a convicted sex offender accused of sexually abusing two 13-year-old Burbank girls.

Connect with Patch: Oak Lawn / Evergreen Park / Beverly-Mt. Greenwood

After a five-month investigation, Burbank Police arrested Fernando Gonzalez, 35, of Cicero, on allegations of sexual abuse that occurred August 7, 2012 near Owens Park in the 5100 block of 78th Street in Burbank.

Find out what's happening in Oak Lawnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gonzalez allegedly lured the girls one by one into his SUV. Upon taking each girl’s photo, he began making physical contact inside the SUV, police said.

The girls were able to provide police officers with limited information, according to the Burbank Police Department’s web site.

Find out what's happening in Oak Lawnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Investigators continued working leads over the past several months. As investigators revisited the case, Gonzalez was located on the Illinois State Police Registered Sex Offender website, police said.

Police said that Gonzalez matched the description of the alleged offender, and that further investigation led to him being positively identified.

Gonzalez appeared before Judge Aguilar at the Bridgeview Courthouse for a bond hearing Jan. 25 on charges of criminal sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a child and presence within a park zone.

Are You a Fan of True Crime? Like our Crime-N-Shame Facebook page to stay on top of the big stories and the weird ones.

Burbank Police and the Cook County State's Attorney's office are still investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lieutenant Michael Dudl by email at mdudlo@burbankil.gov

Gonzalez is a registered sexual predator stemming from a 2000 conviction for criminal sexual abuse in Riverside. He was 23 at the time, and his victim was 18.

He's due back in court on Feb. 20.

Source: Burbank Police Department


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.