Man accused of printing sexual image of woman on shirt without consent is taken into custody, released

An Elgin man was in custody of McHenry County authorities Monday after a warrant was issued accusing him of sharing a sexual image of a woman without her consent by printing the photo on a T-shirt and sharing it on social media.

Michael D. Whitsey Jr., 28, has been charged with four counts of nonconsensual dissemination of a private sexual image, a Class 4 felony, court records show. An arrest warrant was issued by McHenry County Judge Kevin Costello last month and Whitsey was in McHenry County Jail custody Monday.

According to the criminal complaint filed last month in McHenry County court, Whitsey commissioned a custom apparel shop called The Plug, located in Morton Grove, to produce the white T-shirt with a “private sexual image” in which the woman’s breast was exposed.

A video of another woman wearing the shirt “with her back to the camera twerking,” was later shared on Whitsey’s Snapchat account, according to the criminal complaint. The court documents also allege that Whitsey committed one count of the illegal dissemination of a sexual image when he emailed the photo to the screen-printing store. A person reached by phone at The Plug declined to comment.

Judge Cynthia Lamb released Whitsey Tuesday while he awaits trial, with conditions including that he must refrain from communicating with or going to the home of the woman alleged to be depicted in the image in question, according to court records.

According to the complaint, Whitsey knew or should have known that the woman in the photo did not consent to the photo being shared.

The woman submitted court documents in September requesting an order of protection against Whitsey, which was granted in October for two years, according to court documents.

The case was brought by Marengo authorities, according to court documents.