By Tamara Sharman
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Northern Illinois University professor Qingwei Yao thought he was soliciting
sex from a 13-year-old girl he met on the Internet, police said.
But his partner in the illicit flirtation on a commonly used chat room was a
police officer with the recently formed Kankakee County Cyber Crimes Task
Force, law enforcement officials announced at a Tuesday press conference.
Yao allegedly arranged to meet the "girl" in Kankakee County, police said.
Task force agents apprehended Yao on Friday when he arrived in anticipation
of a sexual rendezvous. Kankakee County Sheriff Tim Bukowski said Yao "
sought to engage in explicit sexual acts" with the underage girl.
Yao, a 43-year-old chemistry professor at NIU in DeKalb, is charged with six
counts of indecent solicitation of a child on the Internet. He was jailed
overnight at the Jerome Combs Detention Center and was released Saturday
after posting bond.
NIU officials are cooperating with the task force investigation. Police
seized computers belonging to the university and used by Yao. They will be
examined in search of child pornography and to determine if Yao has
approached other victims.
Authorities have not found a criminal record for Yao in the United States.
He entered the U.S. in 1991 on a student visa from China. Yao became an
American citizen in 1998.
The cyber crimes task force includes representatives from the Kankakee
County Sheriff's Police, the Manteno Police Department, Grant Park Police
Department and the Kankakee County State's Attorney's Office. Task force
members arrested another man over the weekend in a case that mirrors Yao's
situation. They are the task force's first arrests.
Nicholas Garcia, a 28-year-old Bradley man, was arrested Saturday. Police
said Garcia also used the Internet to sexually solicit an underage teenage
girl. Garcia's partner in the chat room conversations was a task force
officer.
Task force officers log into a chat room using a profile showing a specific
age and gender. The predators look at that and start a conversation, Manteno
Police Chief Bernie Thompson explained. "In these two cases and some others
, it went very quickly to the sex talk and the resulting arrests," Thompson
said.
"They weren't hiding their identities or anything else," Undersheriff Brad O
'Keefe said of Yao and Garcia. Yao even admitted to his victim that he was a
teacher, O'Keefe said.
Garcia, who is unemployed, was arrested after allegedly arranging to meet
the girl for a sexual encounter. Police seized computers and other materials
linked to the investigation.
Kankakee County prosecutors charged Garcia with three counts of indecent
solicitation of a child. He is free on bond.
"No one was harmed in these cases, but it clearly demonstrates to us that
there is a high degree of risk and parents should be observant," Bukowski
said.
The task force continues to investigate. More arrests are expected.
Comments
6 comments on this article
Posted by katie from bourbonnais at 11:53AM on Wednesday, 10/25/06
This nick guy is weird i thought that the first time i met him... i know who
he is through a friend and i got a weird vibe from him and this proves it.
Posted by FormerNIUStudent from bourbonnais, il at 12:41PM on
Wednesday, 10/25/06
OMG! He was my organic chem teacher! He failed me! Maybe if I had dressed as
a 13 y/o he would have passed me :-
Posted by some anonymous person at 3:30PM on Wednesday, 10/25/06
The creeps must go
Posted by Brianna from St.Anne at 5:43AM on Thursday, 10/26/06
Thank you so much for getting these preditors off the street.
Posted by Bill from Momence at 7:46AM on Thursday, 10/26/06
Keep up the good work Sheriff
Posted by some anonymous person at 8:52PM on Thursday, 10/26/06
i knew Nick and i just hate him so much for doing something like this i
thought i could trust him but apparently i was wrong. he brought this on
himself he knew what he was doing and he went with it anyway not thinking
about anything. He was my friend but he ruined it.
