Will County Children’s Advocacy Center receives $75,00 federal grant to expand resources for victims of child trafficking, child pornography

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May 24

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow is pleased to announce that the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center has been awarded a $75,000 federal grant to expand resources for the victims of child pornography and child sex trafficking.

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, established by State’s Attorney Glasgow in1995, was one of 34 CAC’s across the nation to receive a grant from the National Children’s Alliance to expand resources and services.

The grant will fund initiatives to enhance the countywide response to child sexual exploitation by creating a local Child Pornography and Exploitation Coalition; expanding law enforcement’s accessibility to the Children’s Advocacy Center and its services; and developing a public service campaign to raise awareness about child sexual exploitation.

In addition, the grant will fund the hiring of a specially trained child sexual exploitation and advocacy coordinator to handle these cases. And it will enable the center to create a specialized mentoring program that provides support and guidance to the victims in child pornography cases.

State’s Attorney Glasgow and the Children’s Advocacy Center already are partnering with the Plainfield Junior Women’s Club to coordinate a public awareness about child sex trafficking in our region. 

“This federal grant will provide additional funding to dramatically expand the critical services the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center provides,” State’s Attorney Glasgow said. “Our goal is always to provide hope, healing, and justice for sexually abused children.”

State’s Attorney Glasgow established the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center as a 501-(c)-3 charitable organization in 1995 to vastly improve investigations into cases involving the sexual abuse of children.

Today, when children make outcries of sexual abuse, they are brought to the center, where trained and compassionate forensic interviewers obtain accurate statements in a neutral, non-suggestive and child-friendly environment. Interviews recorded at the Children’s Advocacy Center have been used in the successful prosecution of thousands of child predators over the last two decades.


Will County Juvenile Division Chief Tina Filipiak to receive honor from Illinois Juvenile Officers Association

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May 23

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow is pleased to announce that Assistant State’s Attorney Tina Filipiak, who serves as the chief of his Juvenile Division, will receive the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from the Illinois Juvenile Officers Association.

Filipiak, who has led the State’s Attorney’s Juvenile Division for the past 25 years, will receive the honor at the IJOA and D.A.R.E. Annual State Conference in East Peoria on June 15. State’s Attorney Glasgow nominated her for the award earlier this year.

As the Juvenile Division chief, Filipiak supervises all prosecutions involving minors in Will County. The Juvenile Division also prosecutes parents who abuse or neglect their children. In the most serious abuse and neglect cases, the division litigates the termination of parental rights.

The IJOA provides high quality training and is involved in programs aimed at preventing and controlling juvenile delinquency. The organization is open to anyone employed by or retired from an agency dealing with prevention, control, and correction of juvenile problems.

“Tina Filipiak is a passionate leader who supervises the finest team of Juvenile Division prosecutors in Illinois,” State’s Attorney Glasgow said. “She brings tremendous knowledge, experience, compassion and common sense to court with her every single day. She has dedicated her entire career to protecting our children and holding juvenile offenders accountable for their actions. She richly deserves this honor.”

Filipiak joined the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1992 after working in the Hennepin County (Minnesota) Attorney’s Office. She is a former member of the Aurora Sub Region Child Death Review Team, which is a partner of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. She is a graduate of Saint Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


Man pleads guilty to series of sexual assaults along I&M Canal

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May 16

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announces that a man who raped three women on the I&M Canal path two years ago pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual assault on Wednesday.

Miguel Luna, 37, faces between 32 and 80 years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge David Carlson on July 16, 2016.

Luna attacked the first victim between Brandon Road and Larkin Avenue on Sept. 6, 2015. In this case, Luna jumped off a bike, tackled the woman from behind, dragged her into the woods, and tied her up. He repeatedly sexually assaulting the victim during the more than 90 minutes he held her captive.

Another woman was attacked near the I&M Canal path in a similar manner around 8 a.m. on May 21, 2016 while she was running along the Frontage Road near Interstate 55. The defendant, who was wearing a ski mask, sunglasses, and surgical gloves, grabbed the victim from behind, put her into a chokehold, and tied her hands with shoelaces under the I-55 viaduct. He sexually assaulted her and left her tied under the viaduct . She was able to free herself.

In both cases, he indicated he was armed with a knife, but he never brandished one.

The suspect was identified during the investigation of a sexual assault of another woman that occurred on May 18, 2016. The defendant, who also knew this woman’s friend, tied up his victim and sexually assaulted her in a secluded area near Brandon Road. The victim’s friend later identified Luna for police. After Luna was identified in connection with this case, his DNA would conclusively link him to the other two sexual assaults.

The third victim, however, recently died; charges related to her case were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea in the other two cases. Luna pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

“Miguel Luna is in this country illegally. This ruthlessly violent sexual predator should never have had the opportunity to brutally prey upon these innocent young women,” State’s Attorney Glasgow said. “He terrorized our community by repeatedly committing the most vicious sexual assaults against unsuspecting women in an historic area that people from throughout the region safely enjoy for recreation.” 

Luna was living in the 1400 block of Winifred Street in Joliet. Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Fillipitch secured the guilty plea.