Former Deacon Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault of Minor, Sentenced to 34 Years

WHEATON, IL — A Wheaton man has been sentenced to 34 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor, according to a release from DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. Timothy Peltz, 52, pleaded guilty in January to four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, which is classified as a class X felony, for attacks which allegedly spanned a five year period.

From January 2008 to August 2013, Peltz is alleged to have sexually assaulted a minor on multiple occasions. According to police, the female victim told her mother in 2013. Her mother contacted DuPage County Children's Center and Peltz, a former church deacon, was taken into custody in September 2016 and held on $1 million bond.

The attacks allegedly began when the girl was younger than four years old and ended when she became strong enough to push him away. Initially, Peltz blamed his victim for being "too affectionate."

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin had the following statement after Peltz's sentencing:

“For more than five years, Mr. Peltz repeatedly sexually assaulted this very young girl to satisfy his perverse sexual obsessions. It wasn’t until his victim became older and physically stronger that she was able to put an end to his nauseating behavior. Thankfully, she went one step further than simply putting an end to Mr. Peltz’s assaults and told her mother what had happened to her. To do so took extraordinary strength and courage on her part and for that I commend her. I would also like to thank her mother for bringing this matter to our attention. Thanks to them, Mr. Peltz will spend what could amount to the rest of his life behind bars where he will be unable to prey upon little girls ever again. I would like to thank the Wheaton Police Department and the DuPage County Children’s Center for their work on this very disturbing case. I would like to thank Robert Holguin and Stephanie Mogensen of the DuPage County Children’s Center as well as Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Lindt for their outstanding work in holding Mr. Peltz responsible for what he did to a young, innocent little girl.”

Peltz will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole and will be required to register as a sex offender for life.