CHANNAHON, Ill. —  A former gymnastics coach in the southwest suburbs will spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting one of the girls he trained.

Jose Vilchis, 72, of Channahon, was sentenced Tuesday for the criminal sexual assault of a teenage gymnast. Vilchis was found guilty of eight counts of felony sexual assault last June.

The jury rendered its verdict in less than two hours.

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“At the sentencing hearing, in addition to a prepared statement by the victim, a police officer testified regarding two additional victims and another of Vilchis’ victims testified that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Vilchis in the 1990s while he was her gymnastics coach,” read a release announcing the sentencing.

The abuse of a female teenage gymnast occurred in 2013 and 2014 when Vilchis was a coach at I&M Gymnastics in Channahon. Evidence also showed that Vilchis had committed sex crimes against three other girls dating back to 1997.

Vilchis was arrested in 2018. Vilchis will receive credit for 1591 days served.

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“Jose Vilchis is a reprehensible sexual predator who calculatingly used his position of trust and authority to take advantage of innocent girls,” said Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow. “He repeatedly preyed upon young gymnasts in private under the guise of being a caring coach…Although nothing can undo the damage he caused, he will spend the rest of his days in a prison cell unable to prey on anyone else.”