Glenbrook South Student Indicted for Sexual Abuse, His Former Employer Speaks to Patch

Allen Giron, an 18-year-old Glenview man and senior, was indicted today in Cook County Circuit Court on a single count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony.

If convicted, Giron could face up to seven years in prison for two alleged sexual encounters with a , according to a Cook County Sheriff’s press release. 

Police were originally notified of Giron’s meetings with the alleged victim by the girl’s sister, who told police that the teen victim had recently been diagnosed with herpes by a doctor after “at least two sexual encounters” with Giron -- One at a fast food restaurant in Niles, the other at Giron's home. Giron and the teenager originally met on Facebook, according to statements made in court Jan. 31. No mention of herpes has been made in court.

Originally charged Jan. 13, Giron has been in Cook County Jail since his arrest, though it originally appeared he would be released Feb. 1 on electronic home monitoring.

“The judge wants [Giron] to post $5,000 cash before he is released to home monitoring,” Giron attorney Steven Goldman said in court today. 

and the restriction would be removed if the money were posted. “The judge wanted both,” he said, so Giron remained in jail.

When Giron appeared in court today for the indictment, Goldman asked Judge Larry G. Axelrood to further reduce the bond to $30,000.

"They don’t have the money [$5,000],” Goldman told the judge. He argued that the Giron family could afford the $3,000 necessary for a $30,000 bond. “He needs to get back to school so he can graduate.” 

Former Employer Recounts Earlier Years

Before today’s indictment, Patch spoke with Glenview resident and Giron’s former employer, Connie Payton. Payton met Giron early in his freshman year when she contacted Glenbrook South in search of a student to help with things around her home. She painted a picture of a hard-working high school student involved in sports, dedicated to his schoolwork and also interested in girls, she said.

Giron is a fifth-year senior at Glenbrook South and played football for the Titans his first two years of high school, Payton said. Giron stopped playing football when work became a priority to help his family, she added.

“He helped me around the house after I had surgery,” she said. “He did yard work and shoveled snow too.”

Payton said she encouraged Giron to focus on school work and make smart choices.

“He told me ‘girls are starting to notice me and I’m starting to notice them,’” Payton said. “I told him to be careful, to use a condom. He said ‘I know, I know, my mom tells me that all the time.’” 

After helping Payton for two years, Giron began washing dishes at a nursing home. His aunt, who also worked at the nursing home, secured the position to keep him busy and away from trouble, Payton said.

“His family worked so hard and kept him away from gangs,” she said. “He told me they were all around [Michael Todd Terrace, where Giron lived] and he had to walk through them to get to my house.”

Payton recently saw Giron by chance at a local Wendy’s where Giron worked. She had not seen Giron since the end of their working relationship in June 2008.

“He’s such a nice young man, and the family works so hard, I just don’t understand it [the alleged charges],” she said.

Calls to the Giron family for comment have not been returned. He will be formally arraigned on the charge at 9:30 a.m. March 9 in Room 207 of the Skokie branch of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Stay tuned to Patch for updates.