CHICAGO – In a stunning series of allegations, prosecutors allege that a parolee who visited the home of a man on parole for child pornography charges found the parolee pleasuring himself with his pants down while making a video call to a 14-year-old girl.
Julio Rodriguez, 30, was arrested by Judge Antara Rivera on a security risk and parole warrant.
Records show Rodriguez was hit with 20 counts of child pornography charges in 2022, charges he put behind him by pleading guilty to a single charge on Aug. 16. Judge Michael Clancy sentenced him to three years, but after receiving the state’s standard 50% sentence reduction and credit for time spent on an ankle monitor, Rodriguez spent no time in prison. He entered and left the Stateville Correctional Center on August 20.
Last Thursday, December 5, a probation officer went to Rodriguez’s halfway house in the 8100 block of South Cottage Grove because he allegedly failed to report his living situation after being ordered to do so.
When the officer entered Rodriguez’s room, they found him with his pants down, engaged in a sex act and holding his phone, prosecutors said in a written complaint. Rodriguez dropped the phone on his mattress while the screen was still on, allowing the officer to see that he was on a video call with a “young woman,” the provider said. The girl ended the call, but not before the officer saw her screen name.
Rodriguez told the probation agent that the person on the phone was his “girlfriend,” but he later admitted that she was only 14, prosecutors alleged. Investigators allegedly found more than 100 illegal images and 40 videos of children on the phone, which Rodriguez failed to register with authorities as required by his parole.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez had several social media apps on the phone that he did not tell authorities about, including accounts for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Discord and Reddit.
The phone Rodriguez told officials about was found on the windowsill. Prosecutors said the officer found two apparently illegal images on that device.
During an interview with a Chicago police detective, Rodriguez reportedly admitted that he had been caught pleasuring himself while on a video call with a 14-year-old girl he met on a specific website. They later moved their conversation to Discord.
Prosecutors say he also admitted to having sexual conversations with girls between the ages of 14 and 16 on Discord and the website over the past five days.
Investigators recovered the Discord chat between Rodriguez and the 14-year-old and found that Rodriguez had made explicit sexual comments and requests to the girl, the provider said.
Prosecutors have charged Rodriguez with possession of child pornography, violating the terms of the sex offender registry and indecently soliciting a child via the Internet.
Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, who took office last week, vowed to seek day one detention for anyone accused of possessing or producing child pornography.
A sample of dozens of child pornography cases filed during the cashless bail era found that Kim Foxx’s previous administration requested detention in 75% of such cases. The judges granted 72% of these requests.
When prosecutors charged Rodriguez in 2022, they did not ask a judge to hold him without bail, court records show.
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