A DNA sample submitted to the national DNA database in 2022 has led to the conviction of a former Warrenville man for sexually assaulting a victim in West Chicago in 2001.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced yesterday that Judge Daniel Guerin found Alberto Gomez, 54, last believed to be living in Warrenville, guilty of sexually assaulting a West Chicago woman at her residence in 2001. Gomez appeared in court yesterday afternoon where he was convicted on three counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault (a Class X Felony), four counts of Criminal Sexual Assault (a Class 1 Felony) and one count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse (a Class 2 Felony).
In 2022, Gomez’s DNA was submitted to the national DNA database after he was detained for illegal re-entry into the United States. In late 2022, the West Chicago Police Department learned of a DNA hit from a sexual assault kit collected from a November, 2001 sexual assault in which the DNA swabs recovered from that sexual assault were found to be consistent with Gomez’s DNA.
An investigation into the assault conducted by the West Chicago Police Department found that on November 25, 2001, at approximately 4:22am., the victim was alone in her apartment when she realized that a man, later identified as Gomez, was in her apartment. The investigation found that Gomez struck her multiple times in the face, head and stomach, pushed her on the bed and then sexually assaulted her. Gomez then fled the apartment at which time the victim immediately contacted the West Chicago Police Department.
“The identification, prosecution and guilty verdict of a man suspected in a violent sexual assault that occurred nearly twenty-five years ago sends a strong message that in DuPage County you cannot outlast the law,” Berlin said. “We will never give up on a case or a victim, no matter how much time has passed.”
Gomez’s next court appearance is scheduled for November 5, 2026, for post-trial motions and return of the Pre-sentence Report.
