Oak Forest Man Coerced Teen Relative into Giving Him Nude Photos of Her Friends: Prosecutor

Bond was set at $1 million dollars Thursday for an Oak Forest man who is facing charges involving the possession and solicitation of child pornography after an investigation revealed that he had coerced an underage relative into giving him inappropriate photos of her friends, according to the Office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Thomas Schickel, 36, has been charged with Solicitation of Child Pornography (Class 1 Felony), Inducing Another to Provide a Child for Child Pornography (Class 1 Felony), and Possession of Child Pornography (Class 3 Felony) following an investigation by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force in cooperation with the Oak Forest and Orland Park police departments.

According to prosecutors, beginning in September of 2013 a relative of Schickel’s was part of an ongoing private text messaging group consisting of several minor females. In addition to discussing school and social matters, several of the group members shared nude photos of themselves within the private group.

This behavior continued until March of 2015 when one of the group’s members went to her high school and spoke with the Dean of Students about the situation. The Dean then contacted the Orland Park Police who immediately involved ICAC and Oak Forest Police.

Investigators determined that on several occasions between 2013 and 2015, Schickel received nude images of female minors and that Schickel had repeatedly used threats and punishments to force his relative to solicit nude photos from members of the text group.

After one of the girls confronted the relative after receiving one of the images, the relative disclosed that Schickel had asked for naked pictures of her friends. A search warrant was executed at Schickel’s residence and he was arrested earlier this week. Investigators recovered images of child pornography on Schickel’s cell phone during the course of the investigation and they seized two laptop computers, 12 cell phones, and three hard drives after executing the search warrant.

Schickel appeared in bond court Thursday at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse in Bridgeview where Judge Peter Felice set the $1 million bond. Schickel’s next court date was set for Oct. 16.