Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart on Aug. 4 announced the arrest of a 29-year-old Brookfield man for child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor.
Investigators from the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of the sheriff’s department, assisted by Brookfield police, took Miguel Montesinos Jr., at his home in the 3400 block of Vernon Avenue, into custody after finding that he viewed and shared files displaying child sex abuse.
During their months’ long investigation, police also reported learning that Montesinos had a sexual relationship with a teenager during a four-year period that began when Montesinos was 24 years old.
The victim, who is now an adult, was offered assistance through the Cook County Sheriff’s Victim Support Services Unit, according to a press release announcing Montesinos’ arrest.
ICAC opened its investigation into Montesinos after Brookfield police passed along a tip they had received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about videos and images of child pornography allegedly shared and downloaded through a social media account belonging to Montesinos.
Sheriff’s police obtained a search warrant for the account, where they found about 100 files containing sexually explicit videos of children. Montesinos reportedly admitted in an interview with police after his arrest that the social media account was his and that he’d viewed the videos on his cellphone multiple times.
Montesinos faces one Class X felony charge of dissemination of child pornography and a pair of Class 2 felonies, possession of child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor.
The Class X felony is punishable by between six and 30 years in prison, if convicted. Class 2 felonies carry a prison sentence of between three and seven years.
Montesinos appeared at a hearing on Aug. 4 at the Maybrook courthouse in Maywood, where a Cook County judge set his bond at $200,000. He remains free while awaiting trial after posting bail following that hearing.
