Re-Arrested Sex Offender Takes Own Life In Jail: Sheriff

CHICAGO — A former Morgan Park man and information technology specialist who was convicted of possessing child pornography in a bench trial last year has died after apparently taking his ownl ife, according to Cook County sheriff’s police.

James Sonntag, 47, was found unresponsive in his cell at Cook County Jail, where he was being held on a probation violation around 2:30 p.m. Sept. 16 during a routine security check by a corrections officer. Sonntag had a cloth band wrapped around his neck, sheriff’s officials said in a statement.

"The officer immediately entered the cell, removed the band, and began performing lifesaving measures. Chicago Fire Department paramedics responded and Sonntag was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene," officials said in a statement.

The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled the cause and manner of death suicide by hanging.

Sonntag had been charged with a state violation based on probation information that he was discharged from sex offender treatment, according to court records. He was convicted in a bench trial in 2019 before Cook County Judge Colleen Hyland. He sentenced him to 180 days in Cook County Jail and 36 months of “zero tolerance” sex offender probation, which his attorney described during his November 2019 sentencing hearing as “no picnic.”

Cook County Sheriff’s officials said in a statement that Sonntag had been booked into the jail on Sept. 14 for violating probation, and was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail. A $5,000 bond was posted and Sonntag was waiting on the Cook County Adult Probation Department for placement on its electronic monitoring program.

In June 2016, Sonntag was arrested when Evergreen Park police serving on the Cook County Internet Crimes Against Children task force after police traced child pornography downloaded to an IP address in Sonntag's Morgan Park home, prosecutors said. Prior to that arrest, Sonntag had no criminal background

At his bench trial, prosecutors said that Sonntag viewed sexually graphic videos of young children being exploited in various sex acts. Sonntag's attorneys argued that their client was unaware the videos had been downloaded on his computer from a file sharing network.

Sonntag’s wife described her husband as an involved dad who worked four jobs during his sentencing, in addition to his full-time job as a system administrator in the IT department for a bank. Dozens of friends and family also wrote letters on Sonntag’s behalf before his sentencing and did not consider him a “sex predator.”

According to his attorney, Sonntag had been sexually abused by a friend’s father when he was 13. Sonntag sought mental health counseling to deal with depression and anxiety from the abuse after his arrest.

Sonntag charged with a state violation based on probation information that he was discharged from sex offender treatment, according to court records.

Under the terms of sex offender probation, individuals are subject to numerous stringent conditions, including no alcohol or drugs, random urine testing, DNA sampling, polygraph testing and attending a sex offender treatment program. Individuals subjected to sex offender probation cannot work or live within 500 feet of a park, school, arcade, or any other business or institution catering to children.

In addition, individuals are prohibited from contact with any children under the age of 18 except for his or her own children, abide by a curfew, not possess pornography or adult erotica in his home, and have limited internet access. Illinois residents convicted of sex crimes must also register as a sex offender with the state.

According to the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, Sonntag had been living in Palos Heights. Deputy Chief Bill Czajkowski told Patch that Palos Heights police got a request to verify Sonntag’s address last week.

“He was not a problem,” Czajkowski said. “He was in our community and followed all the requirements of the state registry.”

Anyone who is struggling can get help by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or by texting HOME to 741741.