Crime & Safety
Nude High Schooler Photos Get Oak Forest Man Busted
A 36-year-old man reportedly had dozens of nude images of high school girls on his cell phone. He's charged with child porn possession.
A 36-year-old Oak Forest man faces child porn charges after police found him in possession of more than 60 nude photos of teen girls, Oak Forest police said Thursday.
Thomas Schickel was the target of a months-long investigation that stemmed from allegations by a local high school student in March 2015. The student told police that 16- and 17-year-old high school girls had sent nude photos of themselves in a private group message, and some of the images had been transferred into Schickel’s possession. None of the victims are Oak Forest High School students. Police did not specify victims’ schools or hometowns.
An investigation by Oak Forest Police and the Cook County State’s Attorney Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force revealed more than 65 child pornography images, including those of five identified victims, stashed in a hidden folder on Schickel’s cell phone. Police seized from his home numerous pieces of digital evidence, the results for some of which are still pending. Schickel was charged with Possession of Child Pornography, Solicitation of Child Pornography, and Inducing Another to Provide Child Pornography.
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He will appear in bond court Thursday at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
“These types of cases are often complicated largely because offenders literally have cutting edge technology at their fingertips,” said Deputy Chief Dominic D’Ambrosio. “Keeping our detectives up to date with pertinent training is paramount in combatting crimes of this nature against children.”
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