Police have arrested a Lake in the Hills man following an investigation with the FBI where he was found to have communicated with over 100 children on Snapchat and sought explicit material from them.
Ryan D. Shapiro, 48, of Lake in the Hills, was charged with four counts of soliciting child pornography, a Class X felony.
McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Conroy said in court on Thursday that Shapiro used the popular social media application Snapchat to communicate with users under the age of 18.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), began investigating Shapiro, following an out-of-state report involving a juvenile victim.
The child from another state was solicited by Shapiro to send videos and images to him through Snapchat, Conroy said.
Search warrants were issued to Snapchat to gain access to Shapiro’s messages.
Investigators found that Shapiro had been communicating with over 100 children, Conroy said.
In the messages, Shapiro confirmed the children’s ages, which were between 10 and 15 years old, prior to asking them to send explicit videos and images of themselves to him, Conroy said.
Conroy said Shapiro sent various images of himself to the children as well.
An investigation to confirm and identify all of the children involved is ongoing.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said she commends the Lake in the Hills Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their thorough investigative work.
“This is yet another case that should serve as a stark reminder to parents out there to check your children’s phones, and especially their social media accounts,” Freese said.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted a petition to detain Shapiro pending trial that was filed by the state’s attorney’s office.
Shapiro remains held in the McHenry County Jail and he is scheduled to appear in court again on September 3.