Man get 10 years in prison for lewd images of Johnsburg girl, 14, he met on Snapchat, traveled to see

A man has pleaded guilty to possessing lewd images of a 14-year-old girl who Johnsburg and McHenry police say he met on Snapchat then traveled from Chicago Heights to meet.

Alejandro Vilchis, 23, of Chicago Heights, pleaded guilty Nov. 25 to solicitation of explicit images of a child and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He is required to serve half of his prison time, and then will serve one year of mandatory supervised release, according to the judgment order in the McHenry County court. He is required to register as a sex offender for life, documents show.

In exchange for the guilty plea, additional charges were dismissed, including traveling to meet a minor, grooming contributing to the delinquency of a minor; obscenity; and solicitation to meet a child, according to court records.

Vilchis is charged with similar offenses in Lake County in which he also used Snapchat to communicate with a child, authorities said. That case is still pending, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy and Public Information Officer Christopher Covelli said.

In the McHenry County case, police said that in June 2022, Vilchis used Snapchat to communicate with the child and attempt to engage in sexual conduct. He also “knowingly solicited” the child, whom he knew was younger than 18, to send him pictures of the child’s private parts, according to the criminal complaint. Vilchis also sent the child pictures of his genitals and drove to Johnsburg to meet her, Johnsburg Police Chief Jason Greenwald said.

Authorities said Vilchis drove to a residence in Johnsburg with the intent to meet the child but that she was unable to leave the home to meet with Vilchis. According to Greenwald and the criminal complaint, Vilchis also promised to give the child alcohol and vapes in exchange for sexual acts.

The investigation began Jan. 3, 2023, when the child’s parent found the inappropriate messages on their Snapchat, according to a news release from the McHenry State’s Attorney’s Office. The parent brought the child’s phone to McHenry police, who “uncovered messages between Vilchis and the victim dating back to June of 2022. The messages provided evidence that the sender attempted to exchange drugs, vape cartridges, marijuana, and alcohol in exchange for sexual photographs and favors with the minor,” according to the release. “During one of the conversations, Vilchis ultimately persuaded the victim to provide him a pornographic image of herself.”

In Lake County, Vilchis is charged with possession of image depicting child sexual abuse, a Class X felony; child pornography; aggravated criminal sex abuse; indecent solicitation; and traveling to meet a minor, according to a Lake County indictment. Those charges stem from allegations that, in 2022, Vilchis possessed lewd or sexually explicit images of children under 18 and traveled to meet a child in Lake County, according to an indictment. He in a Lake County courtroom Dec. 17, Covelli said.