Crime & Safety

Man Gets 63 Years for Sexually Assaulting Child Hundreds of Times

Jason Hagerstrom, of Joliet, admitted his sexual contact with the victim began when she was 6 years old.

A Joliet man who sexually touched and assaulted a young girl hundreds of times over the course of a decade, starting when the victim was just 6 years old, has been sentenced to 63 years in prison.

Jason Hagerstrom, 36, pleaded guilty in August to seven counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. He was sentenced Monday by Will County Judge Robert Livas.

The mother of the victim, now 18, learned of the situation late last year and brought the case to Joliet police, who arrested Hagerstrom in January.

After his arrest, Hagerstrom admitted he began having sexual contact with the girl when she was 6 years old, that it progressed to sex when she was 8 and that the number of sexual encounters he had with the victim numbered as many as 400, according to prosecutors. Police confiscated two videos that showed Hagerstrom having sex with the victim.

Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow issued a written statement on the successful conviction of Hagerstrom.

“Jason Hagerstrom stole a child’s innocence,” Glasgow said. “He is a dangerous predator who will now spend the rest of his life behind bars and he will thankfully never harm another child."


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