Ex-Chicago Heights Cop Had 75 Child Porn Files On Phone: Report

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — A man who was a Chicago Heights police officer for decades faces charges related to possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material, FOX 32 recently reported.

Robert Wald, 61, was booked into Cook County Jail on Sept. 4, according to the sheriff’s office.

The booking followed an investigation that started in January, when investigators received a tip from social media messaging app Kik, FOX 32 reported. An account had sent users files containing child sexual abuse material and the account in chat conversations communicated with users presenting as minors, giving one minor instructions about sexual activity, asking for videos and offering to buy sex toys, according to the outlet.

The IP address associated with the files led investigators to Wald’s Chicago Heights home, where they executed a search warrant Sept. 2, seizing a phone containing over 75 child sexual abuse material files, FOX 32 reported.

Wald — a Chicago Heights officer for over 20 years and a current Prairie State College Police Department member — acknowledged ownership of the Kik account and admitted to having a problem with child sexual abuse material, according to the outlet. He also said he worked as a school resource officer at the alternative school Rise, FOX 32 reported.

Wald is being held in jail on no bond, according to the sheriff’s office, and his next court date is set for Sept. 25.