YORKVILLE – A Kendall County judge has sentenced a Chicago man to seven years in prison in a 15 year-old criminal sexual assault case that involved an Oswego woman.
Kendall County Presiding Judge Robert Pilmer sentenced Mustafa M. Dikbas, 40, of the 2400 block of West Grace Street last week, according to the Kendall County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Dikbas, who entered a guilty plea to the charge, will serve the seven-year sentence consecutive to a 10-year sentence he previously received in Cook County for a 2018 Chicago case.
In a statement, the state’s attorney’s office said the incident that led to the Dikbas arrest occurred in July 2007 when the 37 year-old victim became highly intoxicated while out with a friend in Chicago’s River North area and took a taxi back to her Oswego home.
The state’s attorney’s office said the victim became ill several times on the ride home and at one point the driver sexually assaulted her in the backseat of the cab.
Later that same day, the victim reported the incident to Oswego police and she was taken to a hospital where a rape kit was taken which included swabs from her back and the dress she was wearing at the time of the incident.
A male DNA profile was generated from semen detected on the dress but at the time no DNA match was identified and the victim was unable to identify the offender, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
The case went unsolved for almost 11 years until 2018 when Dikbas was charged in a similar incident in Chicago. As a result of those charges, a DNA sample was obtained from Dikbas and a comparison was made between his DNA and the male DNA profile found on the victim’s dress.
The Illinois State Police Crime Lab determined that Dikbas could not be excluded from the DNA profile from the dress and the statistical frequency of any person having that DNA profile was 1 in 130 quadrillion.
Based upon this finding, the state’s attorney’s office charged Dikbas with criminal sexual assault. He subsequently entered a plea of guilty and given the seven year sentence last week.
The sentence in Kendall County is to be served consecutive to a 10-year sentence he received in Cook County for the 2018 Chicago case.
Dikbas will have to serve at least 85% of his sentence before being eligible for Mandatory Supervised Release. In addition, Dikbas will have to register as a sex offender for life.
State’s Attorney Eric Weis praised Oswego police for continuing to pursue justice for this victim after so many years.
Weis also commended First Assistant Mark Shlifka and Assistant State’s Attorney Andrea Boyle for their efforts in prosecuting the case.
“This defendant preyed on women when they were highly intoxicated and most vulnerable. Fortunately, this victim did the right thing and promptly reported this crime to authorities to assure that justice was done. Her persistence to see that justice was done after so many years is a tribute to her courage,” Weis said.
Dikbas was represented by attorneys Nejla Lane and Jason Craddock.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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