Chicago Man Faces 20 Charges Of Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

EVANSTON, IL — A Chicago man is facing 20 felony charges for possessing child sexual abuse material after he was caught filming young girls at an Evanston Target, according to police.

On Monday, a Cook County grand jury indicted Conor M. Burke, 27, on 19 additional counts of possession of child pornography, police said.

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The investigation began in Evanston on Feb. 19, when three juvenile girls reported that a man had used his cellphone to record them in a fitting room while they were undressed. The girls said they saw the phone briefly extend over the partition.

Evanston police reviewed Target's surveillance footage, which verified the girls' account of the events. In the footage, the man entered an adjacent staff room, positioned a phone over the fitting room wall and left the store on foot.

Officers were unable to locate him that day, but later identified Burke as the suspect. He was arrested on April 6 and was charged with one felony count of possession of child pornography.

As part of the Evanston investigation, detectives obtained a search warrant for Burke's cellphone. Evanston police reported that a forensic examination uncovered a large amount of suspected child sexual abuse material. That led to a separate investigation coordinated with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Over the following months, detectives examined digital evidence and worked with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, according to police.

On Oct. 5, Juvenile Bureau members arrested Burke at his Chicago residence in connection with the child sexual abuse material investigation. Prosecutors approved one Class X felony count of possession of child sexual abuse material on Oct. 6, and Burke appeared for a detention hearing Oct. 7.

One of the lead Evanston police detectives on the case presented evidence to a Cook County grand jury Nov. 2, resulting in 19 additional charges.