Oak Lawn Man Nabbed Trying To Meet Child In Berwyn: Police

COOK COUNTY, IL — An Oak Lawn man is accused of arranging to meet with a 13-year-old in Berwyn after a month of sending inappropriate texts and requesting nude photos.

Francisco Nanez, 59, appeared before Friday before a Cook County judge on felony charges of child pornography/solicitation of a child, attempted predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, indecent solicitation of a child, grooming, traveling to meet a child, and possession of a controlled substance.

In April, Cook County Sheriff investigators assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit learned that Nanez had been sending inappropriate messages via a social media app to a child under the age of 13, police said in a news release.

The messages were traced to Nanez, of the 9300 block of South 54th Court in Oak Lawn, according to the charges. With the child’s family’s consent, officials said investigators set up a sting where they began texting Nanez back, while posing as the child.

During these conversations, investigators said that Nanez sent sexually explicit messages and requested that the child send him nude photos.

Nanez arranged via text a meetup instructing the child to meet him outside a convenience store in Berwyn around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Cook County Sheriff’s Police said. When Nanez arrived at the meeting place, he was greeted by ICAC investigators and taken into custody without incident.

Cell phone data from Nanez’s phone revealed his conversations as well as non-explicit photos of the child, investigators said. Nanez was also said to be in possession of a controlled substance during his arrest.

Nanez’s name does not appear in the Illinois Sex Offenders Registry. The sheriff’s office also did not indicate if the child was male or female.

Nanez appeared Friday for a pretrial hearing at the Maywood Courthouse, where a judge ordered him to be held in custody at Cook County Jail until his next date on May 30.