(Lake County, IL) Two separate Lake County jury trials concluded with “guilty” verdicts for sexual assault cases.  

Shawheen Sariri, 26, was convicted on Friday, January 20, 2023, of one count of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, a Class X felony, and two counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse, a Class 2 felony.  

Sariri was first charged in March 2019, after Lake Forest Police received a report from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about a sexual assault involving a minor. The Lake Forest Police Department and the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center investigated the DCFS call, and police arrested Sariri shortly after.   

Terrance Williamson, 46, was convicted late evening, Wednesday, January 25, 2022, of four counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, a Class X felony, one count of Criminal Sexual Assault, a Class 1 felony and one count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse, a Class 2 felony. 

Williamson was first charged in April 2021, after Waukegan Police received a report about a sexual assault involving three minor victims. Waukegan Police Department and the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center investigated the report, and an arrest warrant was approved shortly after, but Williamson didn’t turn himself in until June 2021, over a month after.  

“Both successful trials are another example of how the critical partnership between our office and the Lake County Police Departments make the community safer. Our Children’s Advocacy Center remains one of the best tools in our justice system for protecting children and holding offenders responsible. I want to thank the police, prosecutors, victim advocates, and State’s Attorney investigators who helped these families on their journey toward justice,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart. 

Both offenders were held in the Lake County Jail until their trial. Sariri was originally able to post cash bail after a Lake County Judge set his bond at $250,000 in March 2019, but after Sariri was charged with two new offenses including charges of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault and Aggravated Domestic Battery, involving two unrelated additional victims, Sariri’s cash bond was revoked and he was held without bond. Rinehart added, “Sariri’s history of offending after posting so much cash further demonstrates how wealth-based detention systems do not make us safer.” 

Williamson was detained in the jail on a $2 million bond and after the verdict, Presiding Judge Daniel Shanes revoked Williamson’s ability to post bond.  

Because Williamson was convicted of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault on more than one victim, he is facing a mandatory life sentence. Sariri is facing up to 67 years in the department of corrections.