Loophole In Law Stops Police From Arresting Sex Predator Loitering Near School Bus Stop

PALOS PARK, IL — Parents first noticed the red Hyundai parked by the school bus stop about four weeks ago. Every Tuesday afternoon, at approximately 3:45 p.m., the man allegedly sat in the red car watching neighborhood kids from Palos Dist. 118 getting off the bus.

“The second time we recognized him,” said a father, who contacted Patch following a story about a registered sex offender sighted near a school bus stop. “He was a very disturbing looking person. He did not belong in the area. He was creepy.”

On the third Tuesday, some mothers noticed the red car trolling slowly after the children when they went to meet the school bus.

"He was following right behind the kids," the father said. "The moms waved their hands and started yelling."

The frightened mothers grabbed the kids; one threw a cup at the red car as it sped away. The parents contacted Palos Park police to report what happened, but without a license plate number there wasn’t much police could do beyond searching the area for a suspicious red car.

>>> Palos Park Police Query Sex Offender Spotted Driving Near School Bus Stop

Officers suggested to the parents that next time they try to get a picture of the car’s license plate but "to try not to appear too obvious about it,” the father said.

The fourth Tuesday, the red Hyundai returned. A parent managed to snap a photo of the car’s plate number using her cell phone before the man noticed them.

“He got out of there like a bat out of hell,” the dad said. "He swerved around them and sped away from the scene."

Within an hour, police had the man in custody and were interviewing him at the Palos Park police station. The license plate photo identified him as the vehicle’s registered owner, who also happened to be a convicted sex predator from Orland Park. The man is not being named because he wasn't charged with violating his sex offender registration.

“As soon as we confirmed who he was, we talked to him,” Palos Park Police Chief Joe Miller said. “If he was on school property, it would be a clear-cut violation. We were in consultation with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Senior prosecutors looked at it from all angles. In the end, we yielded to their expertise. I understand parents are upset because we didn’t charge him.”

According Miller, the man’s “version” was that he was just cutting through the Metra station on his way to work and had to pass by the school bus stop on the way to his job. The man was released without being charged.

The parents beg to differ.

“This isn’t someone passing through the neighborhood,” the father said. “He was sitting there.”

Court records as well as news reports dating back to 1995 indicate that the man was convicted for indecent solicitation of a child after he reportedly asked an undercover Chicago youth officer if he could arrange a sexual liaison with a child under 13. He was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

He also allegedly admitted to assaulting two young Boy Scouts in 1993, whom he had met while volunteering at an out-of-state scout summer camp. The man was 22 years old at the time, the boys were 12.

Five years ago, the man pleaded guilty to a 2010 charge of violating his sex offender registration by being in a school zone. He was sentenced to two years in an Illinois prison. Police said on the day of his arrest, the man was about to enter a parochial school restroom where a juvenile was present during a Sunday church service. Church members told police they had seen the man the week before loitering near the restroom.

In the current photo accompanying his registration on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, the man is grinning.

The father says that he and other parents were told that because there was no sign indicating the corner was a school bus stop, police had no probable cause to arrest him.

The Illinois statute that outlines restrictions on sex offenders states that, “It is unlawful for a child sex offender to knowingly be present in any school building, on real property comprising any school, or in any conveyance owned, leased or contracted by a school.”

The law further states that it is unlawful for a child sex offender to knowingly be present within 100 feet of a site posted as a pick-up or discharge zone or be allowed to drive a bus or any vehicle owned, leased or contracted by a school.

A bill introduced in the Illinois House in 2015 — HB3634 — attempted to make it unlawful for a registered child sex offender to reside within 500 feet of a school bus stop. The proposed law never made it to the floor for a vote. Registered child sex offenders in Illinois are already restricted from residing within 500 feet from a school.

“Because the bus stop is not marked he can sit there whenever he wants and watch little boys get off the bus,” the father said. “This isn’t someone passing through the neighborhood. He’s been there for four weeks. It wasn’t just my kids, there was another child there. At this point in time there nothing that can be done.”

The parents at the bus stop want to stress to other parents and community members to be aware of activity at school drop-off and pickup zones, and, if possible, have a responsible adult nearby to monitor children.

Meanwhile, the father says his wife and children are having nightmares since the red car allegedly followed the kids getting off the school bus.

“We wanted to give the kids the freedom to run down the hill to the bus stop, but we can’t even do that anymore,” the father said. “It’s sad. There’s a sex offender and my wife stopped it and there’s nothing we can do about it.”