From the Stat’s Attorney:
COURT GRANTS STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE’S PETITION TO DETAIN MAN WHO SOLICITED NUMEROUS CHILDREN THROUGH SNAPCHAT FOR VIDEOS AND IMAGES OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese announced today that the Honorable Judge Cynthia Lamb granted the State’s motion to deny pretrial release for Ryan D. Shapiro, 48, of Lake in the Hills.
Shapiro appeared in Initial Appearance Court on August 28, 2025, charged with four counts of Child Pornography, Class X felonies.
Evidence was presented during the hearing this afternoon that Shapiro utilized the popular social media application SnapChat to communicate with children under the age of 18.
The Lake in the Hills Police Department along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations began investigating Shapiro when a child victim from another state was identified as having been solicited by Shapiro to send videos and images to him via SnapChat.
Search warrants were issued to SnapChat to gain access to Shapiro’s messages, revealing that Shapiro had been communicating with over 100 children under the age of 18.
In the messages, Shapiro confirmed the children’s ages, which were between 10 and 15 years old, prior to asking them to send videos and images of themselves to him.
Shapiro sent various images of himself to the children as well. An investigation to confirm and identify all of the children involved is ongoing.
State’s Attorney Freese wishes to commend the Lake in the Hills Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations for their thorough investigative work.
“This is yet another case that should serve as a stark reminder to parents out there to check your children’s phones, and especially their social media accounts,” Freese stated. Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Conroy presented the State’s motion and successfully argued for the detention of Shapiro.
Shapiro’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 3, 2025, in courtroom 304.
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
