A 54-year-old softball and baseball hitting coach who rented training space across Vernon Hills and Wauconda is now wanted on felony charges after a 12-year-old girl reported he had inappropriate sexual contact with her during a private training session. Vernon Hills police say Eduardo “Eddie” Acosta-Gonzalez, of Hoffman Estates, may have already left Illinois, and they believe he could have acted inappropriately toward other underage athletes he coached.
According to CBS Chicago, the case began when the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services contacted Vernon Hills police after the girl reported the alleged abuse to the agency's hotline. Police say Acosta-Gonzalez improperly massaged the girl twice and made physical contact with her breast and groin while she was training with him. He has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and is being sought on an arrest warrant, though officers say they have so far been unable to locate him.
A Coach With Reach Across the Chicago Area
Acosta-Gonzalez most recently trained young athletes in Vernon Hills and Wauconda, renting space at a Vernon Hills sports performance center rather than working for a single school or club, per the outlet's report. The same account notes he offered private coaching throughout the Chicago area, a footprint that has left investigators uncertain how many young athletes may have crossed his path. Police say they do not currently know whether he still has access to underage athletes, and that not knowing is part of why they are asking families to come forward.
Because Acosta-Gonzalez worked as an independent instructor across multiple facilities rather than for one institution, Vernon Hills police are leaning heavily on parents to talk with their children about their time training with him. Officers have publicly encouraged parents of children he trained to discuss the matter directly with their kids, and separately asked any parents who notice suspicious conduct to report it to the Vernon Hills Police Department.
Suspect May Have Left the State
Investigators believe Acosta-Gonzalez may have left Illinois altogether, a detail that raises the possibility of interstate flight and complicates any effort to bring him into custody. Despite trying to find and arrest him, police say they have not yet succeeded, leaving the case open as they continue searching.
What the Charge Actually Means
Under Illinois law, aggravated criminal sexual abuse is defined around unlawful “sexual conduct” — intentional touching or fondling of a victim's breasts, sex organs, or anus for sexual gratification — rather than penetration, which is the legal threshold that separates it from criminal sexual assault charges, according to DRD Law, LLC. The charge is a Class 2 felony under Illinois statute, carrying three to seven years in state prison, fines up to $25,000, and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration upon conviction. The same firm's analysis of Illinois State Police data found that aggravated criminal sexual abuse is the single most common registerable sex offense in the state, accounting for roughly 39% of all registered sex offenders statewide.
Mandatory Reporting Rules for Youth Sports
The case also underscores federal reporting obligations that apply to adults working in amateur youth sports. Under the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, coaches, staff, and volunteers in youth sports organizations are mandated reporters required to notify law enforcement or child protective services within 24 hours of learning of suspected abuse, according to United Educators. Illinois' child abuse hotline, run by the Department of Children and Family Services, fielded more than 227,000 calls and opened over 78,000 child protective investigations statewide during the last fiscal year, per Illinois CASA — a scale that reflects how central that hotline tip system was in surfacing this case.
Vernon Hills police have not said whether they have identified any additional victims, and they continue to ask parents whose children trained with Acosta-Gonzalez to reach out with any information. The case echoes a similar 2023 incident involving a California youth softball coach arrested on child sex abuse charges, and follows a 2024 Vernon Hills case in which a juvenile detention counselor faced misconduct charges over alleged explicit exchanges with a teenage detainee. As of now, Acosta-Gonzalez remains at large.
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