Bad Grandpa Molested Young Granddaughters For Five Years: Prosecutor

OAK FOREST, IL -- An 85-year-old grandfather is accused of preying upon his young granddaughters and sexually assaulting them over a five-year period while living with family in Oak Forest, prosecutors said. The alleged abuse was kept secret until recently when both girls cried out to their mother and school officials.

Rodrigo Godoy, now residing in LaGrange, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and predatory criminal sex assault, a class X felony. Godoy listened to the charges read against him through a court interpreter during a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon.

According to the charges, the girls’ paternal grandfather, identified as Godoy, moved to Oak Forest from Texas. Godoy moved into the same residence where his young granddaughters were living. Between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2012, the prosecutor said Godoy went into the bedrooms of his granddaughters and molested them, usually when their grandmother was at work. Both girls were under the age of 13 when the alleged abuse began. ,

The prosecutor said both girls feared their grandfather. The older granddaughter, who is now 18, was afraid that if she told her father what was happening, he might kill her grandfather.

Over the past several months, the older granddaughter told her mother what had happened, who put her into therapy. School officials contacted authorities after the younger granddaughter made vague statements about the alleged abuse during school. A more in-depth interview was conducted with the child, who told of the years of molestation, the prosecutor said.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Godoy was a diabetic. He appeared to have trouble answering the judge’s question about where he was currently living.

Bail was set at $750,000. Godoy was ordered to have no contact with children under the age of 18 and no internet access. Godoy must also be on electronic home monitoring, should he bond out of jail. Godoy’s next court date is July 17 in Bridgeview.