Prosecutors say a man secretly recorded underneath the clothing of female children at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee but was caught by a bystander who reported it.
D’Andre Pope, 28, of Waukegan, was charged with two counts of child pornography, two counts of recording video underneath clothing of a child and one count of resisting arrest from a police officer.
The Gurnee Police Department responded in the afternoon on June 26 to Six Flags Great America for a report of unauthorized video recording.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said theme park security was first alerted to the situation and responded to one of the rides.
Security learned a subject was taking videos up the shorts of unsuspecting juvenile females, McConnell said.
A witness recorded the suspect, later identified as Pope, using a bag with holes in it with his phone inside and positioning it on the ground next to the juvenile females in front of him, McConnell said.
McConnell said Pope was believed to be using an Apple Watch in the palm of his hand to remotely take photos of the children.
Officers reviewed the witness video which captured the incident taking place.
The video showed camera lenses protruding through the holes in the bag. McConnell said Pope used his knee to point the bag and camera directly underneath the shorts of the juveniles.
Pope’s two cell phones and Apple Watch were seized and security officers saw Pope possessing the bag used.
The bag also contained a cardboard box and paper towels, which were used in the contraption to prop the bag up, McConnell said.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the electronic devices and video and images from the Six Flags incident were discovered.
McConnell said investigators also discovered several images and videos of child pornography on both cell phones.
An arrest warrant was issued for Pope on August 23 and he was taken into custody on the same day.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Pope pending trial, calling him a real and present threat to the community’s safety.
A detention hearing was delayed several times for Pope and was held on September 6.
“He was at Six Flags. A place that is supposed to be safe for families, that families are supposed to be able to take their children to and not feel that there is a danger that they are going to be violated in such a horrific way while at Six Flags,” McConnell said in asking for Pope to be held and calling him a threat to the children.
Attorney Matthew Gebhardt argued his client has no criminal background and there would be less restrictive means of release besides holding him in jail.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted the petition and remanded Pope to the Lake County Jail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled in the case for October 3.