A former Rolling Hills police officer is under federal investigation after authorities discovered that the man had been using an online dating app to either get underage girls to send him pornographic pictures of themselves or arrange to have sex with these girls. While the investigation has yet to lead to any charges, a 2019 affidavit seeking to search the former officer’s home was unsealed recently. The affidavit appeared to contain transcripts of conversations between the defendant and underage girls offering money for sex.
The officer was linked to an account on the dating site Seeking Arrangements which had several complaints filed against it for child exploitation. The website markets itself as a “Sugar Daddy” website on which ostensibly younger women can find rich older men. Why such a site would allow minors to have accounts in the first place is another matter for consideration. The officer’s account was closed after the complaints were filed against him. While the officer has resigned from the police force amid the allegations, he is not named in the news due to the fact that he was not charged with any crime.
How Was the Officer Caught?
The officer’s wife became suspicious that he was having some kind of affair, so she went through his email and found explicit messages to younger girls. She told the police that she changed the password on the account so that she could take screenshots. One girl told her mother that she heard from a friend that she could make a lot of money sending nude pictures of herself on Seeking Arrangement.
The biggest issue here is whether or not the search of the officer’s computer was legal for the purposes of a courtroom.
Evidence From Spy Wife
If this were a divorce proceeding, the evidence that the wife gleaned from personal and private email could not be entered into a court of law. In this case, the wife became suspicious that her husband was cheating on her and found that she was right. However, that evidence could never be entered into a divorce proceeding because the evidence was obtained via a civil rights violation—a violation of privacy. So, any evidence that the wife has to offer concerning her husband would be thrown out during a suppression hearing unless the wife could prove that she had unrestricted access to the email.
This is most likely holding up charges against the officer. The wife’s evidence and any evidence that was gleaned because of the wife is invalid for the purposes of a criminal or even a civil trial. This does not mean that the police could not use evidence acquired by other means, such as the webpage. All they would have to do is link the account to an IP address, but that may be more difficult than it sounds.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney
If you have been charged with a serious crime in Chicago, call the Chicago criminal defense attorney, David Freidberg, today at (312) 560-7100 and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.