12-Year-Old Boy in Custody for Sexual Assault of 3-Year-Old Girl

Gurnee, Ill. - A 12-year-old boy was in juvenile custody Monday morning as police investigate the alleged sexual assault of a 3-year-old hearing-impaired girl on a school bus Friday afternoon in north suburban Gurnee.

At 3:25 p.m. Friday, police were notified by Gurnee District 56 school officials that the girl's mother contacted the school after her daughter said she was "hurt" by some boys on the bus, a Gurnee police release said. The girl was examined at Lake Forest Hospital.

She had been picked up by her mother near their home in Wadsworth sometime after 3 p.m., when just two other students -- a 12-year-old Gurnee boy and a 9-year-old Waukegan boy -- were on the bus, the release said.

The 71-year-old bus driver said he was unaware of anything improper happening on the bus, police said.

Police were able to review surveillance from a camera in the bus, one of several installed in school district's buses this summer, Gurnee police Cmdr. Jay Patrick said Monday morning. It was the first time the camera has been used for a police incident.

The surveillance footage led police to pick up the 12-year-old from his Gurnee home about 7:35 p.m. Sunday, Patrick said. He was taken to the Depke Juvenile Justice Center in Vernon Hills, where he was held in the detention area.

The boy remained in custody Monday morning and charges were pending in juvenile court were pending as the Lake County State's Attorney's office investigates, Patrick said.

The Illinois Department of Child and Family Services is also investigating.