FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ill. (WJPF) – A Sesser man has been sentenced to 31 years behind bars for sex crimes committed against a 12-year-old family member.

According to the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office, in December of 2023, Luis Delacruz, 31, sexually assaulted the child while they were asleep. The victim told their parents what had happened. The child’s father physically attacked Delacruz who then fled the state.

He was later found in North Carolina and pleaded guilty in Franklin County Court to one charge of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.