Man sentenced to 6 years for sexually assaulting girl near Lane Tech High School

Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Sexual Assault Near Lane Tech High School

A man who followed a teenage girl from a CTA bus and sexually assaulted her inside a fast food restaurant just steps from Lane Tech High School was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison.

Emmanuel Ortega-Garcia, 35, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual assault during the commission of another felony and was sentenced by Judge Nicholas Kantas, according to court records.

The attack occurred on an October afternoon in 2022. Prosecutors said the 16-year-old victim skipped school that day and headed toward Lane Tech aboard a CTA bus during 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 exited the bus near the school and quickly realized Ortega-Garcia was following her. Hoping to find help, the girl then went to a Wendy’s at 3610 North Western Avenue because she knew several employees there. None of them was working that day.

Prosecutors said the girl sat down in a booth, and Ortega-Garcia sat 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 administrator, and Lane Tech’s assistant principal and security guards immediately began heading to the restaurant, prosecutors said.

Before they arrived, Ortega-Garcia allegedly moved onto the girl’s side of the booth and sexually assaulted her with his hand, using such force that it ripped a hole in her clothing, prosecutors said.

Lane Tech staff arrived moments later and detained Ortega-Garcia until Chicago police officers 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 the time he spent in jail while the case was pending.

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