New charges against TV host already accused in child sex assault

Charges of child sex abuse have been lodged against a Chicago Spanish-language music producer and television host already charged in the assault of an 11-year-old girl.
Elpidio “Juan” Contreras, 53, was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail in the aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a girl who prosecutors say was 8 years old when she was abused in the summer of 2007 and again in 2008. He already had been released on a $500,000 bond in the earlier case, making his total bail $750,000.
Contreras already faced a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in the attacks on the 11-year-old. Prosecutors say Contreras touched the 11-year-old inappropriately a number of times while he was giving her voice lessons between last summer and April of this year.
The younger girl came forward after she saw news reports about the attacks on the 11-year-old. In the 2007 case, the girl’s family had been friends with Contreras. In 2007, when the girl was 8, she and another member of her family went to his office in the 2000 block of North Cicero Avenue.
When the two were at the office, Contreras sent the girl’s family member elsewhere to do a chore, and Contreras partially undressed the girl and took a lewd photograph, fondled her and gave her money.
The next summer, when the girl was about 9 years old, Contreras offered to teach the girl to ride a bike. Contreras touched the girl inappropriately while he was teaching her to ride, something that a family member of the girl’s saw him do.
Until his arrest earlier this month, Contreras, of the 2300 block of North Kostner Avenue, had for 15 years hosted a popular Spanish-language music show on local television, in which he interviewed musicians who were scheduled to play in Chicago. The show, “The Juan Contreras Show”