Crime & Safety
Police Warn Parents After Man Allegedly Used Facebook to Contact Minors in St. Charles, Batavia
Naperville man allegedly used fictitious Facebook account for sexual conversations with minors.
Naperville police are asking parents to check their child's Facebook accounts after police charged a man in connection with having sexual conversations with minors in Batavia and St. Charles on the social network.
Eric Thor Hakala, 37, of the 1100 block of Iroquios Avenue in Naperville, was arrested Tuesday and charged with 15 felonies following a seven-month investigation. Police said Hakala allegedly used a fictitious Facebook account in order to inappropriately talk with minors.
According to police, Hakala, a previously convicted child sex offender, posed as a 15-year-old teen from St. Charles East High School under the alias "Mike Evans."
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Under the alias, police said Hakala allegedly contacted minors from Batavia as well as the St. Charles area.
"High Technology Crime Unit Detectives also discovered that Hakala had been allegedly having numerous sexual conversations as well as trading inappropriate pictures with several minor children over Facebook as the 15-year-old 'Mike Evans,'" police said in a press release.
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Hakala has been charged with one count indecent solicitation, two counts of grooming, one count of harmful material and 10 counts of possession of child pornography.
Naperville police are asking parents in the Oswego, Batavia and St. Charles area to review their child's Facebook friends and the cell phone application KIK for the fictitious Mike Evans account.
Police said parents should preserve any conversations and photos their teen may have exchanged with the Mike Evans Facebook account and contact the Naperville Police Department High Technology Crimes Unit at 630-305-5384 or the Batavia Police Department Investigations Unit at 630-454-2500.
Patch reports on law enforcement activity, using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime, or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation, and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify Patch editor Rick Nagel at rickn@patch.com and we will do follow-up reporting on the case.
