Kane sees increase in cyber crimes against children, vehicle theft

GENEVA – Crime trends in Kane County show that child sexual exploitation and stolen vehicles are on the rise, according to experts at a recent panel discussion.

Lawmakers also expect revisions to the controversial SAFE-T Act.

State Sens. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, and Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Dore, Undersheriff Amy Johnson and retired Naperville detective Rich Wistocki spoke for more than an hour at an event hosted by Safe Suburbs USA at Riverside Receptions in Geneva.

Dore, with 13 years of experience prosecuting internet crimes against children in DuPage and Kendall counties, joined the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office in 2021 to assist in continuing those prosecutions.

“Ms. Mosser – God bless her – I was retired,” Dore said. “So when I came to Kane, I ... was doing kind of an audit on child exploitation and child pornography cases that they had. And I noticed that I seem to have been prosecuting a whole lot more in a county the size of this county.”

From Jan. 1 to May 30, 2021, some 48,000 identifiable videos of children in sexually explicit visual content were downloaded through five local internet providers in Kane County.

Which jurisdiction downloaded the most?

“I’m scared to tell you,” Dore said. “St. Charles. No. 1. These are people with wherewithal, with computers, they have a lot of means.”

After a presentation to the Kane County Board seeking additional funds, Mosser hired two more assistants for the newly formed Child Exploitation Unit and Wistocki as a special investigator. Wistocki is a retired detective with expertise in tracking sexual predators online.

Following 330 cyber tips from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, a national network of 61 coordinated task forces, Wistocki whittled the number down to 30 in three months, Dore said.

Sheriff Ron Hain made space for Wistocki and other investigators as part of the Child Exploitation Unit, Dore said.

And they told other jurisdictions that this unit could assist in their cases, he said.

“We’ve executed search warrants. We’ve made some incredible arrests based on these investigations,” Dore said. “That’s the trend. We are going after people who are going after children. And that’s accountable to the State’s Attorney’s Office and law enforcement. Thank God we got funding for it. We want to continue to do that and make it safe for all of our children.”

Retired Wheaton Detective Andrew Uhlir, who has expertise in internet crimes, and Zeus Florez, a computer forensics expert formerly with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, also are part of the Child Exploitation Unit, Wistocki said.

“Training in schools is the next piece that Jamie wants to bring,” Wistocki said. “It’s not only really important that we catch the bad guys. But in Kane County, we have to start teaching in the schools to show our children how not to be victims. And make parents more responsible for their children.”

Vehicle thefts, smash and grabs

Johnson said the county is experiencing more vehicle thefts, especially Kias and Hyundais.

“We have that right to pursue,” Johnson said. “They have actually asked ... ‘What county am I in?’ ”

Kane County can pursue and that is why it catches car thieves who think they can elude law enforcement.

Holmes said one of the problems with vehicle theft and retail theft smash and grabs is the upper echelon of a crime ring is in charge.

A smash and grab is when someone breaks windows and doors of a retail store and only steals everything they can grab.

“They find a 15-year-old kid to do it because they are not going to be prosecuted the same way an adult is,” Holmes said. “And somehow, we have to make sure we have enough information to go back for the people who are causing it. And try to come up with ways of making sure that kids aren’t in such a situation that they can be easily persuaded to go into this.”

DeWitte said the crime element in Chicago’s inner city and Cook County is working its way into the suburbs.

“Every politician in the city of Chicago will deny that,” DeWitte said. “All that lax law enforcement occurring east of here in Cook County and the city of Chicago is working its way west.”

SAFE-T Act

The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act ended cash bail in Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality last year.

Defendants can be held or released pretrial depending on other factors, but not their ability to post bond, according to the state law.

Both DeWitte and Holmes voted against the SAFE-T Act.

DeWitte said proponents insisted the cash bail system was “systemically racist,” which he had a hard time believing.

“It just went into effect nine months ago, so I think it’s a little too early to determine what has been the effect of no-cash bail,” DeWitte said. “What has been the percentage of recidivism, of people charged and released and going out and committing another crime while they’re out on release?”

Holmes said she expects more changes to the SAFE-T Act.

“There always are in any piece of legislation that is that big,” Holmes said.

Dore said Mosser and DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin both negotiated with the state legislature on the no cash bail law for child exploitation to be a detainable offense.

“We seek detention on every child exploitation case,” Dore said.

The State’s Attorney’s Office created a Detention Hearing Unit, administrative staff, a clerk and two to three additional prosecutors to handle these cases, Dore said.

“It’s been a struggle, but we’ve adapted,” Dore said.

DeWitte said Democrats and Republicans work together on these issues.

“Crime is not a bipartisan issue,” DeWitte said. “Crime affects every human being in the state of Illinois. There are more issues that we agree on that bind us than there are issues that drive us apart. And I think if we can continue on that path ... and concentrate on the things we agree on, we will all move the ball forward together and I think that’s the bottom line.”

Safe Suburbs USA PAC supports law enforcement and public safety candidates and opposes candidates or legislation that the committee opposes, according to its filing with the State Board of Elections.