West Chicago Man Accused of Offering Candy, Toys to Young Children, Attempting to Kidnap Them

A 34-year-old West Chicago man is being held without bail for allegations he attempted to kidnap young children on several occasions in recent weeks, offering them candy and toys if they came with him, prosecutors said Thursday.

Giuseppe Ressa, of 313 Post Oak Circle in West Chicago, appeared in bond court Thursday and is charged with three counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and three counts of child abduction.

Ressa is also accused of making physical contact with two young girls. Police said he rubbed the upper leg of a 7-year-old girl outside an apartment complex in Addison shortly before he was taken into custody earlier this week, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office press release.

Allegations against Ressa stem from an incident at 7 p.m. on May 27 when he is accused of approaching a 7-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother as they were playing in the playground of the apartment complex where they lived on Dogwood Drive in Lisle, according to the news release.

He is accused of making physical contact with the girl as she played on the slide. He then offered the boy toys if he came to his vehicle with him, prosecutors said.

The boy began walking to the vehicle but stopped when his sister called him back. Ressa then left the playground when an older sibling came to call the younger children home, according to the news release.

The children’s parents called the Lisle Police Department to report the crime and during the investigation, police identified Ressa as a possible suspect.

On June 1, detectives conducting surveillance on Ressa saw him with three children, a 6-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, in front of an apartment building on College Road in Addison, according to the news release.

He is accused of giving the children candy and telling them he would give them more if they came with him to a different apartment building.

The two younger children began to follow him but the older child went to tell his mother what was happening, according to the news release.

Ressa continued his conversation with the younger children outside an apartment complex when he is accused of rubbing the upper leg of the 7-year-old girl.

Detectives approached Ressa and then took him into custody, according to the news release.

“Through exceptional police work and the fact that the children involved came forward, Mr. Ressa faces some very serious allegations,” said DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin. “Any crime against a child in DuPage County will be met head on and, if found guilty, the defendant will face severe consequences. Though very disturbing, this case should serve as a notice to parents to remind their children that there are some very dangerous people in the world and that if approached by a stranger, they should get away from that person and tell a trusted adult.