A man who followed a teenage girl from a CTA bus and sexually assaulted her at a fast-food restaurant steps from Lane Tech High School was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison.
Emmanuel Ortega-Garcia, 35, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal assault during the commission of another crime and was sentenced by Judge Nicholas Kantas, according to court records.
The attack happened on an October afternoon in 2022. Prosecutors said the 16-year-old victim skipped school that day and headed to Lane Tech on a CTA bus in the early afternoon. Ortega-Garcia boarded the bus somewhere along the route, sat next to the girl, whom he did not know, and began asking her questions about her interests, prosecutors said. At one point he rubbed her thigh.
Around 2:30 p.m., the girl left the bus near the school and quickly realized Ortega-Garcia was following her. Hoping to find help, the girl then went to Wendy’s at 3610 North Western Avenue because she knew several employees there. None of them worked that day.
Prosecutors said the girl was in a booth and Ortega-Garcia was in the same booth with her. Fearing for her safety, she recorded a video of his face and sent it to a friend who was in class at Lane Tech across the street, telling her that the man was following her and asking her to alert school security.
The friend notified a school principal, and Lane Tech’s assistant principal and security guards immediately went to the restaurant, prosecutors said.
Before they arrived, Ortega-Garcia allegedly went to the girl’s side and sexually assaulted her with his hand, using so much force that it tore a hole in her clothing, prosecutors said.
Lane Tech personnel arrived moments later and detained Ortega-Garcia until Chicago police took him into custody.
Ortega-Garcia had no prior criminal background. Under Illinois law, he must serve 85% of his six-year sentence before being released. He will receive credit for time spent in jail while the case was pending.
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