Lake Bluff Sex Predator Used TikTok To Lure 12-Year-Old Boy: Cops

LAKE BLUFF, IL — A registered sexual predator is accused of trying to lure a boy from North Carolina to his home in unincorporated Lake Bluff.

Jason Silsdorf, 36, of the 500 block of Rockland Road in unincorporated Lake Bluff, was arrested Monday on a warrant for one count of luring and one count of unlawful failure of a sex offender to report an internet site, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

In January, detectives got word from the sheriff's office in Cumberland County, North Carolina, that a parent there discovered TikTok and text messages that Silsdorf had sent to their son, according to sheriff's office spokesperson Lt. Chris Covelli. The messages indicated Silsdorf was trying to get their 12-year-old son to travel to his home.

According to the sheriff's office, Silsdorf emailed a bus ticket he had purchased meant to take the boy from a station near his house to Chicago, where Silsdorf planned to meet him and take him back to his Lake County home. No further details about the bus ticket purchase were available since they will be used in upcoming court hearings, Covelli said.

The terms of Silsdorf's sex offender registration requires him to disclose all social media accounts and telephone numbers to the sheriff's office during an annual registration. Covelli said detectives discovered Silsdorf had an undisclosed phone number and multiple undisclosed social media accounts — TikTok being one of them.

Lake County Sheriff John Idelburg encouraged parents to always monitor their children's online communications.

“The internet is a very easy place for predators to hide,” Idleburg said in a statement. “Any parent would be shocked to learn their child is engaging in communication with a sexual predator, but it happens far too often. Thankfully, in this case, an alert parent found concerning messages before their child boarded a bus out of state."

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Silsdorf registered as a sexual predator following his conviction for criminal sexual abuse, according to court records. In February 2017, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in state prison in connection with a September 2014 incident in Highland Park.

Following his conviction, which carried a two-year prison sentence and lifetime sex offender registration requirements, Silsdorf filed a federal lawsuit from prison against his former defense attorney. Acting as his own attorney, he alleged Northfield-based lawyer Bob Gervertz had forced him to plead guilty and "wouldn't let me do my thing," according to his February 2018 complaint.

"[H]e made me say guilty to my case that I didn't even do," Silsdorf said. "I want to take it to trial cause the other guy involved did more things than I did."

That complaint was dismissed at the first opportunity due to its failure to state a claim. In February 2019, while still in state prison, Silsdorf filed another federal civil rights suit. It named a fellow inmate and the Western Illinois Correctional Center as defendants and alleged that Silsdorf had been sexually assaulted while in prison. He later voluntarily withdrew the complaint, with the option to file it anew in the future.

According to the registry, Silsdorf was 27 at the time of the crime to which he pleaded guilty — an act of sexual conduct with a 20-year-old who was intellectually disabled and unable to consent. Patch has requested details of the case from Highland Park police.

Prosecutors twice charged Silsdorf with violating sex offender registration requirements in 2016, but both times dropped the charges. In August 2019, he entered a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of violating the sex offender registry.

Prosecutors on Thursday approved the two new felony counts — both are class 2 felonies with convictions carrying sentences of up to seven years for first-time offenders — and on Friday a Lake County judge approved warrants for Silsdorf's arrest and a search of his home.

After his arrest on Monday, detectives carried out that search, seizing several electronic items that investigators plan to examine.

Silsdorf is due in court for a bond hearing as soon as Monday afternoon.