Bolingbrook man posted private sexual image of ex-girlfriend on Craigslist: records

A Bolingbrook man has been charged with posting a private sexual image of his ex-girlfriend on Craigslist.

On March 16, Judge Bennett Braun signed a warrant for the arrest of James Challender, 48, of the 200 block of Malibu Drive on a felony charge of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, court records show. The warrant carries a $10,000 bond.

In January 2020, a woman reported to the Will County Sheriff’s Office that she was in a relationship with Challender and broke up with him, sheriff spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.

After the break-up, the woman received text messages on her phone from several other phone numbers regarding people interested in purchasing adult toys, she said.

The woman researched why she was receiving the messages from unknown numbers and discovered a picture of her private body part was posted online, Hoffmeyer said.

She said the woman believed her ex-boyfriend was the one who posted the image online, possibly in response to her breaking up with him.

The case was investigated by the sheriff’s office and Challender was charged on March 16 with non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images.

The criminal complaint alleged that Challender “intentionally disseminated an image” of his ex-girlfriend on Craigslist on Jan. 13, 2020.

Challender obtained the image under circumstances “in which a reasonable person would know or understand the image was to remain private and the defendant knew, or should have known” that the woman had not consented to the dissemination of the image, the criminal complaint said.

Challender’s ex-girlfriend petitioned a protective order against him on Sept. 25, 2019. The petition claimed Challender was aggressive and verbally abusive toward her.

A judge denied an emergency order of protection and the case was later dismissed on Oct. 9, 2019.