Attorney General Alleges Man Traveled to Chicago to Distribute Child Porn, Have Sex with Children
Chicago—(ENEWSPF)—May 28, 2014. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced a New York man was arrested and charged with dissemination of child pornography in Will County as the result of an undercover sting by her High Tech Crimes Bureau. An investigation revealed the defendant traveled to Chicago to meet an undercover investigator with Madigan’s office to distribute child pornography and have sex with young children.
Investigators with Madigan’s office arrested Suresh M. Manjanath, 45, of Tarrytown, N.Y., late Tuesday during the sting in south suburban Channahon. He was charged in Will County Circuit Court with four counts of dissemination of child pornography, a Class X Felony punishable by six to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and is being held in the Will County jail on a $1 million bond.
Madigan alleged Manjanath was seen trading images of child pornography in an online chatroom. A subsequent investigation by an undercover investigator with her office culminated with Manjanath’s traveling to Chicago to distribute additional images and video of child pornography and pursue sex acts with underage children.
“Today, many crimes against children start online. Child predators take advantage of the anonymity of the internet to hide their true identity,” Madigan said. “My High Tech Crimes Bureau hunts down sex offenders lurking online to stop them before they victimize children.”
Madigan’s office, which conducted the undercover sting, was assisted in the operation by the Channahon Police Department and the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“Two years ago, I formed a High Technology Crimes Unit in the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office aimed at tracking down and arresting predators who trade child pornography over the Internet,” said State’s Attorney Glasgow. “I share Attorney General Madigan’s commitment to the aggressive investigation and prosecution of these cases. My team will continue to extend its full cooperation to the Attorney General at any time in order to protect vulnerable children.”
“The Channahon Police Department has a long history of working with the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and currently has a detective assigned to the unit. The Task Force is a great example of how multiple law enforcement agencies work together to help protect society from heinous individuals that victimize children,” said Channahon Police Chief Jeff Wold.
Attorney General Madigan leads the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, which investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement. Since 2006, Madigan’s ICAC task force has been involved in 738 arrests of sexual predators. The task force has also provided Internet safety training and education to nearly 350,000 parents, teachers and students and over 17,000 law enforcement professionals. Currently, 182 agencies are affiliated with the Illinois ICAC.
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
Source: illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
