A judge sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for soliciting an explicit image from a Johnsburg child he had been talking to online for months while offering drugs and alcohol.
Alejandro Vilchis, 24, of Chicago Heights, was charged in April 2023 with child pornography, traveling to meet a minor, grooming, solicitation to meet a child, contributing to the criminal delinquency of a minor and obscenity.
The parent of a young victim, who is from Johnsburg, discovered inappropriate messages in a chat on his underaged daughter’s Snapchat account on January 3, 2023, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the phone was brought to the McHenry Police Department, which uncovered messages between Vilchis and the child dating back to June 2022.
The messages showed evidence that the sender attempted to exchange drugs, vape cartridges, marijuana and alcohol in exchange for sexual photographs and favors with the child, prosecutors said.
Vilchis ultimately persuaded the victim to provide him with a pornographic image of herself during one of the conversations, prosecutors said.
Snapchat records, obtained through search warrants during the investigation, led officers to identify Vilchis as the sender, prosecutors said.
The case was investigated by the Johnsburg Police Department and McHenry Police Department.
Vilchis entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office last week.
He pleaded guilty to one count of solicitation of child pornography in exchange for a 10-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt approved the plea agreement and sentence.
“Online predators are a growing problem, and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office is fully committed to prosecuting offenders,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said following the plea hearing.
In March 2023, Vilchis was charged in Lake County for communicating with a child online, traveling to meet her in Mundelein and sexually abusing her.
The Lake County case remains active and a case management conference is scheduled next for Monday.