Police arrested a child sexual predator after he was found on two occasions with a “giant teddy bear” on his truck that was parked outside of multiple schools in Vernon Hills.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Vukovich said the Vernon Hills Police Department was alerted on Monday to a pickup truck parked outside Hawthorn Elementary School North, 301 West Hawthorn Parkway.
The truck had a large teddy bear sticking out of the back of the pickup truck.
The vehicle was parked where children enter and exit the school and remained parked there for 24 hours based on surveillance video, Vukovich said.
Vukovich said Timothy H. McKinney-Murphy, 42, of McHenry, was seen moving the truck after school started on Wednesday morning after school began and children were present.
Officers informed McKinney-Murphy, who is a registered child sexual predator, that he could not be present within the school zone and also told him to get rid of the teddy bear.
McKinney-Murphy showed back up with the giant teddy bear still in the truck on Thursday, Vukovich said.
McKinney-Murphy admitted he stays at his girlfriend’s house for no more than 72 hours in a row and also said he sleeps over there often.
His girlfriend’s house is less than 500 feet from Hawthorn Elementary School North and Hawthorn Middle School North, Vukovich said.
Vukovich said it is also within 500 feet of the school grounds for John Powers Center, a SEDOL school, and Hawthorn School of Dual Language.
McKinney-Murphy has spent more than three aggregate nights at the girlfriend’s residence within the past year and has not registered as a temporary domicile as required by his registration requirements, Vukovich said.
Officers arrested McKinney-Murphy and transported him to a First Appearance Court hearing on Friday morning.
He was charged with violation of the sex offender registration, five counts of child sex offender loitering and sexual predator loitering near a public park.
McKinney-Murphy told the judge that there were “inaccuracies” with the allegations represented in court.
State records show McKinney-Murphy was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old child when he was 16 in McHenry County. He is required to register as a sexual predator for life.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain McKinney-Murphy pending trial, arguing he poses a real and present danger to the community.
A public defender for McKinney-Murphy said his client was not loitering directly on the school grounds and was only going to his girlfriend’s home, which is on Washington Court.
McKinney-Murphy appeared for a detention hearing on Friday afternoon and Lake County Judge D. Christopher Lombardo granted the petition to hold him in the Lake County Jail.
Lombardo noted that McKinney-Murphy has a prior history of violations and called the nature of the allegations “truly disturbing and concerning.”
McKinney-Murphy is scheduled to appear in court again on October 15 for a preliminary hearing.