A Schaumburg man was sentenced Thursday to 27 years in prison for sexually assaulting a neighbor after breaking into her apartment.
Andrew S. Mallett, 29, of the 1100 block of North Knollwood Avenue, pleaded guilty to charges of home invasion and aggravated criminal sexual assault.
Mallett entered the 25-year-old victim’s apartment through an unlocked patio door early on the morning of March 19, 1999, while the woman was sleeping, said Assistant State’s Atty. Liz Hantzos. Mallett tied her hands behind her back with a pair of pantyhose, then blindfolded her with a towel and shirt before sexually assaulting her, she said.
Associate Judge Earl B. Hoffenberg listened to emotional testimony from several witnesses before sentencing Mallett in the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court.
Police stopped Mallett for questioning when he came out of his apartment in the same complex shortly after the attack. He later confessed.
The victim testified that she has not been able to return to work since the attack and that she suffers from anxiety and depression. More than two dozen of her family members and friends attended the hearing, leaving the courtroom when Mallett took the witness stand to apologize.
The victim said she was satisfied with the sentence and praised the Schaumburg police. “I’m a strong person, and this day is going to give me more strength to go on,” she said.
Mallett’s relatives also testified. His mother told the judge her son had saved a man’s life in Arlington Heights by pulling him from a burning vehicle. She said her son received the village’s Certificate of Valor for the May 1997 rescue.
