Hampshire Man Charged With Sexual Assault of St. Charles Girl

Authorities concluded a five-month-long investigation Tuesday with the arrest of a 22-year-old Hampshire man on nine felony counts after he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old St. Charles girl in rural Hampshire.

The St. Charles Police Department is continuing the investigate the case, and is seeking information about other potential victims, according to a release issued Wednesday morning.

Nathan Lake, of 44W011 Plank Road, Hampshire, is in the Kane County Jail, where he is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. A Kane County grand jury has indicted him on four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony; two counts of indecent solicitation of a child, Class 3 felony; one count of solicitation to meet a child, a Class 4 felony; one count of traveling to meet a child, Class 3 felony; and one count of child abduction, a Class 4 felony.

According to the St. Charles Police Department release, the arrest was the culmination of a five-month-long investigation by St. Charles police and the Kane County Child Advocacy Center.

Authorities say the investigation began Jan. 28, 2013, when the victim revealed to a St. Charles police officer that she had been solicited and then sexually assaulted by a man subsequently identified as Lake. Describing the investigation as comprehensive, authorities said they conducted numerous interviews, a victim interview done by the Kane County Child Advocacy Center, and a forensic analysis of the victim’s cellphone. Investigators determined that the incident occurred in an unincorporated area near Hampshire.  

The case was brought Tuesday, July 16, 2013, before a grand jury, which handed down the nine-count indictment against Lake.

St. Charles police then arrested Lake without incident at his residence that afternoon on outstanding warrants. Lake was taken to the St. Charles Police Department, 211 N. Riverside Drive, where he was booked and processed before being taken to the Kane County Jail.

Authorities are urging anyone with information about other potential victims to call St. Charles police Detective Chuck Pierce at 630-443-3827.