A 35-year-old Wood Dale man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of threatening a woman with a knife and sexually assaulting her in an Aurora hotel room.
The sentencing of Alexi Benitez Jacinto by Judge Bianca Camargo comes after he was found guilty on three counts of criminal sexual assault, a class 1 felony, in October 2025.
According to prosecutors, on August 12, 2022, Alexi Benitez Jacinto sexually assaulted a woman he knew at an Aurora hotel. Prior to the assault, Benitez Jacinto threatened to harm the victim with a knife if she continued to refuse his advances. In the hotel lobby, an employee saw the victim signal for help and overheard Benitez Jacinto threaten to beat the victim.
The employee called 911, and Aurora police officers responded to the location. Officers knocked on the hotel room door, and the victim came running out, asking for help. Benitez Jacinto denied the assault, but a search warrant for his phone revealed he had recorded the incident.
“Sexual assault is a violent and dehumanizing act,” Assistant State’s Attorney Amanda Busljeta said after the sentencing. “This defendant violated the victim in the worst possible way, and the physical and emotional pain he inflicted is unimaginable. It is my sincere hope that she will be able to move forward from this horrible experience. I commend the victim for her quick thinking in signaling to the hotel employee that she needed help, and I commend the employee for promptly calling 911.”
In addition to the prison term, Benitez Jacinto must register as a sexual offender in accordance with the Illinois Sexual Offender Registration Act.
In accordance with Illinois law, Benitez Jacinto must serve at least 85% of the sentence. He receives credit for a total of 1,481 days served on EHM and in custody.
