Girl's Homework Tips Cops to Sex Abuse by Cancer Patient: Prosecutor

Zdzislaw Jakubczak, 67, of the 7900 block of West 82nd Street, Bridgeview | Bridgeview Police Department

A school assignment about “inappropriate behavior” led to the arrest of a Stage 4 cancer patient who is accused of sexually assaulting two young sisters, prosecutors said.

Zdzislaw Jakubczak, 67, of Bridgeview, appeared for a bond hearing before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on Wednesday, where he is facing four, Class X felony counts of predatory criminal sexual assault against a child.

Prosecutors alleged that Jakubczak abused the girls from December 2008 through January 2013.

According the charges, the sisters’ mother was good friends with Jakubczak’s wife. The couple began babysitting the girls, who are now 13 and 14, at their Bridgeview home and at the sisters’ residence in Burbank.

There were occasions when Jakubczak would babysit the girls on his own. When the sisters were 6 and 8, Jakubczak began touching the girls’ private parts in a sexual manner with his fingers, prosecutors said.

Jakubczak allegedly told the sisters if they told their mother they would get in trouble.

Last month, the 13-year-old girl wrote a letter for a classroom assignment that mentioned “inappropriate behavior.” A teacher read the letter and called police, prosecutors said.

Both sisters were interviewed by Bridgeview police on video; Jakubczak also allegedly admitted to the abuse in a video-recorded police interview.

Jakubczak’s attorney told the judge that his client’s wife and sons were in the courtroom to support their husband and father.

Pointing out the three-year delay in reporting the alleged abuse, the attorney also said Jakubczak is a stage 4 cancer patient who needs medical treatment. The attorney requested a low bond.

Judge Felice set bail at $2 million. Should Jakubczak bond out, he is to have no contact with the sisters or children under age 18; stay 1,000 feet away from schools and parks; and have no Internet access.

Jakubczak faces a minimum of six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for each count if convicted. The sentences would be served consecutively. Jakubczak is due back in court on March 16.