Crime & Safety

Woman Who Tied and Beat 11-Year-Old Girl in La Grange Sentenced to 7 Years

Rocio Ochoa, 44, pleaded guilty on July 13 and was sentenced to 7 years in prison for tying up and beating an 11-year-old girl in La Grange last year.

has finally reached something of a conclusion.

Rocio Ochoa, 44, of La Grange, pleaded guilty on July 13 to felony aggravated domestic battery and unlawful restraint. She was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $659, according to Tandra Simontom, a spokeswoman for the Cook County States Attorney's office.

The judge also extended an order of protection for the girls for two years following Ochoa's release from prison, according to media reports.

Find out what's happening in La Grangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The case caught reader's hearts at 11:45 p.m., and told police she had escaped from her home on the 100 block of Hillgrove Avenue. The girl told police she had been bound to a pole in the basement for hours with an electrical cord. She told police she knew to come to police for help because of a D.A.R.E. program at her school. 

“This girl is a very brave young lady,” La Grange Police Chief Michael Holub told Patch last year. “She walked six blocks to the station at midnight to find us, and she knew to do that—to come to police for help—because of a D.A.R.E. program in her class. We’re very proud of her.”

Find out what's happening in La Grangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The girl told police she was beaten with a kitchen pan and then tied up in the basement by Ochoa, who was the court-appointed guardian of the girl and her nine-year-old sister. After being tied to a pole in the home's basement, Ochoa stuffed a rag in the girl's mouth and left her there for hours without access to food, water or a bathroom. It was never fully known how the girl managed to escape. An examination of the girl revealed she suffered multiple contusions and bruising along her body.

Police took Ochoa into custody on June 27. She was formally indicted on July 13 on 23 charges, including 14 counts of aggravated domestic battery, four counts aggravated battery with intent to commit bodily harm, four counts of child endangerment and one count of unlawful restraint of a child.

Ochoa was appointed the girls' guardian about four years ago after their . Ochoa had moved the girls from Arizona to La Grange in 2010. In July 2011, police were unsuccessful in tracking down the girls' mother.


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