Roscoe man gets 101 years for 2019 kidnapping, rape

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - Four years after a Rockford woman was taken from her home and raped in a Roscoe basement, her assailant receives nearly a life sentence in prison.

Matthew Harkey, 47, of Roscoe will spend 101 years in prison for four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and one count each of aggravated kidnapping, home invasion and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Harkey was arrested on March 19, 2019, after a woman escaped his mother’s basement after being victimized.

Neighbors found the woman bloody, naked and handcuffed to a weight bench outside the residence on McDonald Road in Roscoe.

During the trial, prosecutors showed that Harkey broke into the woman’s Rockford home, beat and kidnapped her, then held her hostage in his mother’s basement for repeated sexual assault.

Investigators were able to electronically track Harkey through the victim’s stolen phone and a vehicle he rented the day before the attack.

Copyright 2023 WIFR. All rights reserved.