An Illinois state’s attorney announced that bond was set at $5 million for a man taken into custody in West Chicago last week, whose DNA links him to a sexual assault in 2001.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin’s office said in a press release that Alberto Gomez, 51, of Florence, Arizona, 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.
The DA’s office said in 2022, the West Chicago Police Department received a DNA hit on a sexual assault sample taken in November 2001, after a woman was sexually assaulted at her West Chicago apartment.
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Alberto Gomez was linked to a 2001 sexual assault through DNA evidence, according to authorities in Illinois. (DuPage County States Attorneys Office)
DNA recovered from the victim is allegedly consistent with Gomez’s DNA, which was submitted when he was detained for illegally re-entering the United States.
On Nov. 25, 2001, the victim was sleeping alone in her apartment when she woke up and saw a man, allegedly identified as Gomez, standing in her bedroom.
Gomez is accused of pushing the victim down on the bed, covering her mouth, striking her multiple times and then sexually assaulting her.
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Pipette placing sample into vial for extracting DNA evidence in forensic lab. (Andrew Brookes via Getty Images)
He then fled the apartment, the DA’s office claims, at which point the victim called the police.
At the time of the assault, Gomez reportedly lived in the West Chicago-Warrenville area, according to the press release.
“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,” Berlin said. “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.”
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Gomez was taken into federal custody in November when he was detained while illegally re-entering the United States and has been in custody ever since.
Last week, he was transferred to the DuPage County Jail.
Police ask anyone with information about the case, or about Gomez, to contact them at 630-293-2222.
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Gomez is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 16, 2023.