A man sexually assaulted as a child by his one-time foster father is now seeking $45,000 in restitution from the Sugar Grove man convicted of the abuse, according to court documents.
A jury convicted 49-year-old Noel Buhay in March of predatory criminal sexual assault involving the then 10-year-old boy who was placed into foster care with Buhay and his wife between January and May 2004, a time frame during which Buhay performed sex acts on the boy, prosecutors said.
At trial the state’s attorney’s office suggested Buhay took advantage of the boy and considered him the “perfect victim.”
Buhay awaits sentencing, but an attorney for the boy, who is now 23, recently filed a motion seeking $45,000 in restitution so that his client can undergo “intensive psychological treatment” for post-traumatic stress disorder associated with the abuse.
“To date (the man) has only been able to receive minimal and sporadic evaluations and counseling from state agencies due to his being indigent,” attorney George Acosta wrote in the motion.
Acosta stated his client has struggled with jobs and places to live as a result of Buhay’s “abusive, abhorrent and criminal behavior.” The motion mentions Buhay’s bond money as a possible source of the restitution, while also requesting Buhay identify the insurance company that covered his home on Aurora’s West Side at the time of the abuse.
A lawsuit filed in April similarly accused Buhay of “touching, fondling and initiating various forms of sexual conduct,” which it said left the man with personal, emotional and psychological injuries.
Prosecutors did not charge Buhay with assaulting the boy until 2014, only after Buhay was accused in 2013 of nearly 30 counts alleging he sexually abused and assaulted a second boy. Buhay contacted his former foster son during the latter investigation to tell him to stay quiet about his claim, according to prosecutors. The case involving the second boy remains pending.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.