U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
|
|
U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation |
|
|
| In Reply, Please Refer to Release No. |
219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604 |
|
|
|
January 7, 2003 Woodridge Man Arrested for Distribution of Child Pornography Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Geoffrey J. Korous, Chief of the Woodridge, Illinois Police department announced today the arrest of STEPHEN G. HADDAD, age 48, of 2522 Woodlyn Drive in Woodridge. HADDAD was arrested earlier today, without incident, by FBI Special Agents and Woodridge Police Officers at his residence. HADDAD will be charged in a criminal complaint filed later today in U.S. District court in Chicago with one (1) count of Distribution of Child Pornography, which is a felony offense. It is alleged that HADDAD distributed sexually explicit images of minor children over the internet to an undercover FBI Agent, which he had met on-line and thought was a 14 year-old girl. This arrest was the result of the FBI's "Innocent Images" investigation. Established in 1995, the Innocent Images initiative is designed to investigate and eradicate the on-line sexual exploitation of children and combat the proliferation of child pornography. To date, Innocent Images task forces across the country have initiated nearly 6,000 investigations and arrested over 3,000 sexual offenders. HADDAD, who is a full-time substitute school teacher in Glenbard District #87 and Indian Prairie District #204, will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ian H. Levin, later today, at which time he will be formally charged. If convicted of this offense, HADDAD faces a possible sentence of up to 15 years incarceration. Although the investigation of this matter is continuing, there is no indication that the images allegedly distributed by HADDAD were of school children in either of the districts where he was employed. The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. EDITOR's NOTE: A copy of the complaint filed against HADDAD is available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645. |
