Investigators say a 32-year-old man masturbated in front of children he was babysitting and exposed them to sexual material on separate occasions at his home near Lake Villa.
Steven A. Rodgers, 32, of the 26400 block of West Cedar Crest Lane in unincorporated Lake Villa, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and dissemination of harmful material.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said detectives began investigating Rodgers after becoming aware of a situation that occurred in April.
A child, who was under the age of 10, reported that Rodgers played pornography on a computer for the two of them to watch.
Rodgers, who was babysitting the child, began masturbating while watching it, Covelli said.
Further police investigation showed that Rodgers likely did this with another child, who was under the age of 15, during a similar circumstance, Covelli said.
Both instances occurred at Rodgers’ residence near Lake Villa.
Sheriff’s detectives arrested Rodgers on May 17 after the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against him.
A Lake County judge ordered Rodgers held on a $300,000 bond.
Rodgers was released from the Lake County Jail after posting $30,000 cash last week.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 23.