Man Sentenced To 33 Years For Sexually Assaulting Woman Near Her Workplace

WHEATON, IL — A Glen Ellyn man has been sentenced to 33 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a woman as she arrived to work.

In May 2019, Kenneth Hatlen attacked a woman who was going to work at a Glendale Heights restaurant, according to a news release form DuPage County State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin. Hatlen, 55, was a former employee at the restaurant.

According to Berlin's office, Hatlen grabbed the woman before she entered the restaurant, around 4:15 a.m.. He dragged her to a grassy area near her car, strangled her, and sexually assaulted her, the news release said. He then left the scene. Glendale Heights Police Department officers arrested him the following day after identifying him as a suspect, Berlin's office said.

Hatley will spend three additional years in prison for spitting on a sheriff's deputy while in custody.

Hatlen pleaded guilty on October 15 to one count of aggravated criminal assault and one count of aggravated battery.

“Crimes of sexual violence remain a top priority of my office,” Berlin said in the news release. “In this case, the crime committed against the victim is simply appalling. The fact that Mr. Hatlen pled guilty to his crimes does nothing to erase the memory of what he did or the pain and suffering he caused his victim.

"Thanks to the outstanding work of the Glendale Heights and Darien Police Department however, Mr. Hatlen was taken into custody in very short order. Thanks to the efforts of Assistant State’s Attorneys Lee Roupas and Alexandria Levan of my Office’s Sexual Violence/Child Protection Division, Mr. Hatlen will serve a significant amount of time behind bars where he will be unable to prey on innocent, unsuspecting women.”