Detection Dogs Help Nab Man On Felony Child Porn Charges: Lake County Sheriff

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A Deerfield man has been charged with 10 felony counts of possession of child pornography after police reportedly found numerous images and videos of child pornography, many involving children as young as toddler age, in a search of his home.

According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Rami M. Gabriel, 49, was arrested Thursday, with the state's attorney's office intending to file a petition to detain him in jail while he awaits trial. While initial charges have been filed, LCSO said additional charges are "likely," and detectives are continuing their investigation.

Detectives had received a tip from a social media provider, indicating a device in Lake County possessed suspected child pornography. An investigation was launched, and it determined the likely source was coming from a home in the 400 block of Jonquil Terrace in Deerfield.

After obtaining a search warrant for the home Thursday, the LCSO worked with the Illinois Attorney General's Office, Lake County State's Attorney’s Office, and Deerfield Police Department. In addition, two electronic detention dogs from LCSO and the state's attorney's office, K9 Enzo and K9 Grip, assisted with the search.

During their search, detectives were able to seize electronics that contained dozens of child pornography images and videos of children as young as toddlers, belonging to Gabriel, of the same residence. Police also found evidence that Gabriel was communicating online with others about the forcible sexual assault of victims and expressing a sexual interest in children.

"The crimes uncovered in this investigation are deeply disturbing and represent the worst kind of exploitation of children," Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said. "Through close collaboration with our law enforcement partners, our detectives acted quickly to identify an individual who posed a serious threat to the most vulnerable members of our community. We remain steadfast in our mission to identify predators, protect victims, and ensure our community knows this behavior will never be tolerated."

LCSO said the FBI-Chicago field office provided a polygrapher to assist with the investigation.

Police are asking anyone who believes they, or their children, may have had contact with Gabriel in a manner consistent with this investigation is encouraged to contact Lake County Sheriff's detectives at 847-377-4000.