From the State’s Attorney:
PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER WHO TARGETED CHILD ON SNAPCHAT SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese announces that on June 29, 2026, Anthony D. Morales, 32, of Round Lake Park, Illinois, was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the offense of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Child, a Class 2 Felony.
Morales was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Tiffany Davis after entering a negotiated plea of guilty under extended term sentencing guidelines.
Upon his release from prison, Morales will also be placed on Mandatory Supervised Release for a period of four years and must comply with all registration requirements of the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act for the rest of his life.
The investigation established that Morales, who was already a registered sex offender, initiated contact with a minor victim through the social media application Snapchat.
After communicating with the victim online, Morales arranged to meet the child in person, where he persuaded her to commit acts constituting Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse by offering to give her
- cash,
- buy her things, or
- provide her alcohol and marijuana.
Despite using multiple usernames and fake identities, detectives were able to positively identify Morales as the user of the accounts.
The case was investigated by the Algonquin Police Department, with assistance from the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, and Lake in the Hills Police Department.
State’s Attorney Freese praised the investigators and prosecutors for their work in bringing the offender to justice.
“This man exploited social media to gain access to a child despite already
“being a registered sex offender. Predators who use online platforms to target children pose a serious threat to our community. This sentence ensures that he will be removed from our streets for years while sending a clear message that those who prey upon children will be aggressively prosecuted and held fully accountable.”
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office reminds parents and guardians to remain actively involved in their children’s online activity. Applications such as Snapchat can provide offenders with opportunities to contact minors anonymously or under false identities.
Open communication, privacy settings, and regular monitoring of online interactions remain critical tools in protecting children from online exploitation.
This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Shelby Page.
