Harvey man detained pre-trial on sexual assault charges at DuPage health facility
A DuPage County judge has ordered Miguel Palacios, 26, to be held without bail pending trial after he was charged with sexually assaulting a resident at the Alden Village health care facility in Bloomingdale. Palacios, who worked as a certified nursing assistant at the facility, faces two counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault and one count of Unlawful Restraint.
According to authorities, police were called to Alden Village on February 24 after an employee reported hearing suspicious noises coming from a resident's room. An investigation led police to allege that Palacios assaulted a non-verbal male resident with intellectual and physical disabilities while the victim was in bed.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin addressed the situation by stating: “The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing. Sexual crimes are, by their very nature, among the worst of crimes, leaving victims to suffer not only at the time of the assault but for many years to come. Instead of providing care and comfort to the victim, as he was entrusted to do, it is alleged that Mr. Palacios sexually assaulted him. I want to stress however, that the allegations against Mr. Palacios rest squarely on his shoulders and are not indicative of the staff at Alden Village who tend to the residents’ needs with professionalism and kindness day in and day out. I thank the Bloomingdale Police Department for their outstanding work on this very upsetting case as well as authorities at Alden Village for their cooperation. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorney Cathy Nusgart for her efforts in securing charges against Mr. Palacios.”
Bloomingdale Director of Public Safety Frank Giammarese added: “I would like to recognize my staff as well as State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and his team. The relationship between medical care professionals and patients is imperative and the safety of patients is the ultimate objective. We have great sadness for the victim and his family.”
Palacios will next appear in court on March 23 before Judge Brian Telander. If convicted on all charges, he could face between six and thirty years in prison.
In other developments related to DuPage County education data from recent years: The county maintained an average student-to-teacher ratio of 13-to-1 during the 2022-23 school year across its schools, serving over 142,000 students with more than 10,600 full-time faculty members (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Teacher absenteeism reached 38.3%—higher than Illinois' state average—and specific schools had varying enrollment figures across different demographic groups during that period (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx).
Authorities remind residents that criminal complaints contain only charges; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.