Man Assaults Woman 2 Days After Prison Release: State's Attorney

AURORA, IL — Two days after making parole, a man sexually assaulted a childhood acquaintance while visiting Aurora, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.

Joseph E. Baker Jr., of the 4200 block of West Carroll Avenue in Chicago, agreed to a 20-year sentence at the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea to criminal sexual assault, a felony.

In 2012, the now-40-year-old Baker was convicted of criminal sexual assault for having contact with a minor. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison but continued to return to prison after repeatedly violating his terms of mandatory supervised release, officials said. He is a registered sex offender.

On Aug. 20, 2021, two days after Baker was again released on parole, a woman he knew since she was a child gave him a ride from his Chicago residence to his mother's house in Aurora. On the trip, Baker asked her if she wanted to engage in sexual activity with him, and she declined, according to Assistant State's Attorney Jessica Michels.

When they arrived at Baker's mother's house, he entered the room the woman was in, grabbed her hand, closed the door and refused to let her leave. Michels said. Baker sexually assaulted her, officials said, and when the woman told him to stop, he refused.

Baker is required to serve at least 85 percent of his 20-year sentence and receives credit for his time spent in the Kane County jail.

The 2012 conviction required Baker to register for life as a sexual offender in accordance with Illinois law.

"Mr. Baker is a dangerous man who should be behind bars given his history of sexual violence," Michels said. "I am proud of this victim for her courage in reporting this sexual assault, which has prevented him from committing acts of violence against anyone else."