Ringwood man accused of lying about his age to a teen girl and then sexually abusing her

A Ringwood man was ordered detained in McHenry County jail Thursday while awaiting trial on accusations that he met a teenage girl through Snapchat, lied to her about his age, groomed her and then sexually abuse her.

Irin Ponce, 21, of the 6100 block of North Richmond Road, is charged with five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a person between the ages of 13 and 16 when offender is at least five years older, which are Class 2 felonies; Ponce is also charged with attempted criminal sexual abuse, traveling to meet a child and grooming, according to jail records and McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel, who presided over Thursday’s detention hearing.

Ponce is accused of meeting the 15-year-old girl on Snapchat in November and telling her he was 16. The two began a dating relationship and, on more than one occasion, Ponce sexually abused her against her will, Assistant State’s Attorney Julio Cantre said in a proffer, arguing Ponce be detained pretrial. In one encounter, as the alleged victim unsuccessfully attempted to push him off of her, Ponce held her down by her arms leaving bruises, Cantre said.

Cantre said the alleged victim told investigators “He was hurting me so I just let him do it.”

Ponce “is a real and present threat to [the alleged victim] and every underaged girl that crosses his path whether in real life or social media,” Cantre said. “He is a predator. He was unrelenting until he got what he wanted. ... She got sexually abused by an adult man.”

Assistant Public Defender David Giesinger said Ponce should be allowed pretrial release in this case because, in January, Chmiel released Ponce with conditions in a separate case involving the same alleged victim. In that case, Ponce was charged with domestic battery involving physical contact, a Class A misdemeanor. He is accused of kissing the same girl “on the lips on multiple occasions” knowing she was 15 “and could not legally give consent to the contact” and he was 20 at the time, according to the criminal complaint filed in the McHenry County court.

Giesinger noted Chmiel released Ponce at that time with conditions that he has not violated, including wearing a GPS, having no contact with the alleged victim and staying at least two miles away from her home. Ponce denies bruising the girl or any “forceful interaction,” Giesinger said.

In rebuttal, Cantre said there now are new facts in the case the judge did not know in January “that give much more insight on the situation.” Had Chmiel known these facts in January he may not have permitted Ponce’s release from the county jail, Cantre said, also noting that while Ponce claims there was no forcible sex, he does not deny there was sex involved, and Cantre noted the alleged victim is a minor. He also said Ponce has been released for two months and there is no way of knowing if he is “currently grooming other young girls.”

In ruling Ponce be detained, Chmiel referred to the prosecutor’s “very detailed proffer.” He noted that on three occasions the alleged victim, a minor, told him no to his sexual advances and he did not stop. That tells the court that something “horrific” happened, Chmiel said, adding that another word for it is “rape.”

The court did not have the details in January it has now, Chmiel said ordering that Ponce is a threat to the alleged victim and the community and “no conditions could keep her or the community safe.” Ponce is due in court Wednesday.