A Chicago man who evaded law enforcement after being accused of a heinous crime against a child has been recaptured and is now facing additional charges. According to a release by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, 48-year-old Jorge Mondragon-Bahena, initially charged with Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Minor, had been on electronic monitoring since October 2022 before he fled in March 2023.
The escape resulted in a Cook County arrest warrant for Escape - Violation of Electronic Monitoring as well as the initial Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault charge. Despite multiple attempts by Sheriff’s Electronic Monitoring investigators to locate him, Mondragon-Bahena was able to evade capture by living under different aliases and keeping a low profile as a cook in a local yet unspecified restaurant.
In an operation combining efforts from the Cook County Sheriff's Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the U.S. Marshals Task Force, the alleged fugitive was located living at an address in the 4500 block of South Talman Avenue in Chicago. Arresting officers took Mondragon-Bahena into custody last week without any issue, as detailed by the Cook County Sheriff's report.
Following his arrest, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office charged Mondragon-Bahena with felony escape on March 7th. He appeared in court at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse the next day, where he was ordered detained at the Cook County Jail.
