Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting 4-Year-Old In Downers Grove Held On $1M Bond: Cops

DOWNERS GROVE, IL --- A four-year-old girl was washing her hands in a bathroom in a Downers Grove Park in 2012 when Matthew Schuten allegedly sexually assaulted her, police say. Schuten, of 4052 Roslyn Rd., is now being held on $1 million bond in connection with the crime and subsequent instances of peering under bathroom doors at young girls.

Schuten allegedly approached the girl at Whitlock Park, 4000 Fairview, Downers Grove in June 2012 and told her he was a doctor who needed to perform a test. He then sexually assaulted her and fled the scene, according to a statement from DuPage County State's Attorney's office.

In June 2015, Schuten allegedly struck again just a mile from the site of the previous sexual assault. Police say he peered under a stall at an eight year-old girl as she used the bathroom at Hummer Park, 4833 Fairview, Downers Grove. Again, Schuten fled the scene before authorities arrived.

Law enforcement tracked Schuten until August 22, 2017, when they trailed him to Hummer Park again. There, they witnessed him entering the woman's restroom, where he was found crouched on all fours inside a stall trying to see a seven-year-old girl in the adjacent stall, police said.

After an altercation with an officer, law enforcement took Schuten into custody.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin called Schuten's alleged acts "sickening" and promised they will be "met with the full force of the law." He went on to thank the Downers Grove Police Department, DuPage County Children's Advocacy Center, and Assistant State's Attorneys for their help in what he called "a very disturbing case."

Schuten faces up to 60 years in prison if he is convicted. If released on bond, he would be prohibited from contact with minors and entering school grounds, playgrounds, forest preserves, parks, day cares or any "facility or sevice provider with services directed towards person under the age of 18," or from parking near any such locations.

Schuten's next court appearance is scheduled for October 3.

Image via DuPage County Sheriff's Office