Girls Gymnastics Coach, 71, Convicted Of Sexual Assault

CHANNAHON, IL — State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a Will County jury on Monday convicted former Channahon girls’ gymnastics coach Jose Vilchis, 71, of eight counts of criminal sexual assault against a teenage girl who was also a gymnast.

The jury reached its verdict in less than two hours following a four-day trial before Will Coujnty Circuit Judge Daniel Rippy.

The abuse happened in Channahon in 2013 and 2014 when Vilchis was a coach at I&M Gymnastics in Channahon. The jury also heard evidence that Vilchis had engaged in sexual crimes against three other teenage girls going back as far as 1997.

The next court date is Aug. 24, according to Glasgow's spokeswoman Carole Cheney.

Each count of criminal sexual assault carries a sentence of 4 to 15 years, meaning that Vilchis will serve a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years and is eligible for a maximum sentence of 120 years.

In Tuesday's news release, Glasgow thanked Assistant State’s Attorneys Mary Fillipitch and Tricia McKenna. He also commended Nichole Pasteris, director of the victim witness services, Albert Bailey who provided technical support, and Channahon Police Detective Craig Gunty.

In 2018, Joliet Patch first wrote about the sexual assault allegations against the former I&M Gymnastics coach in Channahon. That April, WTTW published a lengthy expose headlined, "Gymnastics Coach Accused of Sexual Abuse Remained At Chicago-Area Gyms for Decades."

The Chicago television report revealed that the Channahon Police Department were first contacted about Vilchis in 2014 and again in 2017. When one gymnast was 13, the I&M coach always found an excuse to touch her private areas, she told Chicago Tonight.

"He would squeeze my butt. He would touch my chest area," the teenager told Chicago Tonight, according to its investigative report. "He would just try many, many things. And I didn't know what to do. I was quiet. I didn't know that things were happening with other girls. We all kept it from each other because we were so scared."

Chicago Tonight also reported how Channahon's Police Department did not realize that the USA Gymnastics had investigated Vilchis for sexual abuse and banned him from their organization.