Oak Forest Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Tinley Girl

TINLEY PARK, IL — A man threatened to take a young girl’s tablet away unless she complied with his sexual demands, prosecutors said. Phillip Connolly, 38, of Oak Forest, appeared before Cook County Judge John Mahoney on a felony charge of predatory criminal sexual assault.

According to the complaint, Connolly moved in with the 8-year-old girl’s mother in Tinley Park apartment last November. During their relationship, Connolly took explicit videos of himself having sex with the mom.

The woman started a new job in June, leaving Connolly to watch her daughter. While the woman was at work, the prosecutor said that Connolly threatened to take away the girl’s tablet unless she fondled his penis. Connolly is also alleged to have shown the girl the videos of Connolly and her mother having sex.

On Aug, 12, the girl disclosed the sex acts to her mother, who notified Tinley Park police. A search warrant was obtained, where officers said they found the videos of Connolly having sex with the girl’s mother on his phone. A few days later, the girl positively identified Connolly during an interview the police, the prosecutor said.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Connolly, whose address appears in court records as the 6400 block of Cedar Road in Oak Forest, is a graduate of Oak Forest High School. Connolly also receives disability benefits.

Connolly has a history of misdemeanor arrests for retail theft and interfering with the reporting of a battery, the prosecutor said.

“You are just one rotten human being if this is true,” Mahoney said.

Connolly is being held without bail. He was also ordered not to have contact with the girl, nor be alone with minors under age 18, while his case is pending. Connolly is due back in court on Sept. 26 in Bridgeview.