Yorkville Sex Offender Caught Photographing Kids, Gets 14 Years: Weis

YORKVILLE, IL — A convicted child sex offender formerly from Yorkville was sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was caught taking pictures of naked children last September, according to the Kendall County State's Attorney's Office.

Robin Lish, 62, agreed to the sentence during a late January plea disposition for two counts of child photography by a child sex offender in front of Kendall County Judge Robert Pilmer. Criminal Chief Assistant State's Attorney Frank Gorup served as the prosecutor on the case, while Lish was represented by a public defender.

Officials began investigating Lish after the Kendall County Sheriff's Office received a call about an older man walking with a young girl on a closed trail near Cedar Ridge Park in Yorkville, near Silver Springs State Park.

Deputies arrived to find a shirtless girl, under the age of 10, in a creek with Lish. When the man was alerted to deputies' presence, he put his pants on backward and exited the creek, officials said in a news release. Deputies noted Lish was not wearing underwear.

When deputies searched Lish's phone, they found photos of the young girl and her sister, who was also a minor. Officials said there were no allegations made indicating Lish committed physical or sexual abuse.

During an investigation into the incident, detectives learned Lish was convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault in Pike County, making him a child sex offender, officials said.

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"Thankfully, in this case, we believe Lish was stopped before something worse could have occurred with the young child," State's Attorney Eric Weis said in a statement. "Without a concerned citizen taking the time to call law enforcement, this crime could have easily gone unnoticed or become even more traumatic for the minor victim."

After completing his prison sentence, Lish will be required to serve two years of mandatory supervised release, formerly known as parole, and may be detained further under a separate civil proceeding if the Illinois attorney general's office deems it necessary, officials said.