A 70-year-old man was sentenced to 6 years in prison Thursday for sexually abusing a 6-year-old Mt. Prospect girl in her grandmother’s home.
Primo J. Hernandez of the 1700 block of West Bryn Mawr Avenue in Chicago was sentenced following a victim-impact hearing before Cook County Circuit Judge Janice Bierman in the Rolling Meadows courthouse.
The girl’s mother, who testified Thursday on behalf of her daughter, said she felt Hernandez needed prison time despite his age.
“Because of his age, we don’t know who else he might have done this to,” the mother said. “You don’t just wake up when you’re 69 and say, `I think I’m going to be a pedophile today.’ I hope I helped save other children and parents from having to go through this.”
Hernandez pleaded guilty June 12 to sexually abusing the girl. The abuse occurred between June and July of last year while the girl was in the care of her grandmother. Hernandez had been a longtime friend of the family’s and was engaged to the grandmother.
The victim’s mother said she learned of the abuse when her daughter broke down and told .her what was occurring.
Hernandez has no prior criminal convictions.
