Romeoville HS Student's Killer Allegedly Raped 2 Other Teen Girls

A Cicero man found guilty of gunning down a Romeoville High School student who didn’t want to date him anymore allegedly raped two other teenage girls.

Erick Maya, 24, was sentenced to 122 years in prison on Tuesday for murdering 15-year-old Briana Valle.

Briana and Maya met through Facebook when she was 13. Briana ran off with him in August 2012 and was only returned after her mother, Alicia Guerrero, launched a diligent and exhaustive search. But even after Briana was back—and ostensibly cut off from Maya—she maintained contact with him, Guerrero said.

Briana and Maya’s mutual obsession prompted her family to move from Chicago’s Little Village to Romeoville. Briana transferred from an all-girls Catholic school to Romeoville High and began dating a boyfriend closer to her own age. She also sold Maya’s engagement ring at a cash-for-gold place in Joliet, Guerrero said.

Enraged, Maya took a cab down to Romeoville, crept up on Briana as her mother was about to drive her to school and opened fire. He also shot Guerrero. She survived but the bullet remains lodged in her neck by her spine.

In the days before the shooting, while the jilted Maya was stewing about Briana leaving him, he was also allegedly raping other underage teens back in Cicero.

From New Year’s Day through Feb. 5, Maya forced a teen to have sex with him, according to a criminal complaint. The 12-count indictment charges Maya with the criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a girl between the ages of 13 and 17. She was identified as “K.L.”

A second criminal case alleges Maya forced himself on a different teen on Feb. 11—just two days before he killed Briana. That case, which identifies his victim as J.S., also charges him with criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Maya was convicted not of raping but of viciously beating a15-year-old girl with a beer bottle and a metal pipe in October 2011. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed an immigration detainer on Maya after his arrest, according to an agency spokesman, but the Berwyn police released him without notifying them.

Maya ended up getting sentenced to 60 days in the Cook County jail and 30 months probation. He missed a court date for a probation status check on Feb. 6.

On the day Maya failed to appear, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Kristin Piper asked Judge Gregory Ginex to issue a warrant for his arrest but the judge refused, according to a court transcript. Ginex pointed out the “weather has been very bad” and scheduled another date.

Maya killed Briana exactly a week later.

Go take a look at our Facebook page.