Hancock Center Sex Offender In Child Porn Investigation: Report

CHICAGO, IL — An operations manager at the former John Hancock Center is accused of seeking out men who would allow their sons or nephews to engage in the convicted sex offender's sexual fantasies, according to a recently unsealed federal search warrant affidavit. The 45-page document, which was filed under seal in April and opened in late June, is part of an ongoing federal investigation of Christopher B. Colon, who has not been formally charged, the Chicago Tribune reports.

According to the affidavit, Colon, 38, had been allegedly advertising on Craigslist last summer for other men interested in child pornography and "taboo/perv" subjects, such as incest, the report stated. One of his online posts allegedly asked about "messing around with a guy while [that individual's] son or nephew is in the next room," the report added.

Colon initially told the Tribune in a recent interview at the skyscraper's observatory that he didn't know he was under investigation, but he eventually admitted that his Avondale home had been searched, and he had been questioned by authorities. He also denied any wrongdoing during the interview.

Last week, 360 Chicago, which owns the observatory, told the Tribune that measures had been taken "to remove [Colon] from our premises" after the company was informed about his employment. A company spokeswoman said multiple background checks by an outside agency did not reveal his sex offender status.

At around the same time as the Craigslist posts, Colon was advertising private father-and-son tours at 875 North Michigan Avenue's observatory on the travel website TripAdvisor, the report stated. He also was still on probation for a 2015 felony conviction for possessing child pornography, the report added.

In that case, federal investigators seized videos and other suspected child pornographic material from Colon's then-apartment in Lincoln Park in April 2011. He eventually was arrested by Chicago police in March 2014 and charged with 42 counts of child pornography and aggravated child pornography.

Colon pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing child pornography involving a 9-year-old. He was sentenced to three years probation and credited with 91 days in jail. Colon also was ordered from going to "places primarily used by children" and prohibited from finding employment at workplaces that would involve "direct contact" with children without first receiving a judge's approval, the Tribune reports.

Because the case involved a minor, Colon is listed as a "sexual predator" on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, and he must keep his information updated annually on that database for the rest of his life. His probation ended in January despite secretly being under investigation by federal authorities at the time.

According to the unsealed affidavit, the current investigation began in June 2017 when an undercover federal agent — posing as the father of two sons, 10 and 12 — contacted Colon through his alleged Craigslist ad, the report stated. In these messages, Colon allegedly told the agent he had had past sexual encounters with children and offered to give the man and his "sons" free rides on the building's Tilt attraction, the report added.

Another undercover agent contacted Colon under the guise of a father of a 10-year-old boy in December, the report stated. During this exchange, Colon allegedly offered a free observatory tour and told the agent that "special private time" could be available thanks to a private bathroom and office, the report added.

The affidavit also detailed an account by a man arrested by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents in December who allegedly received child pornography from Colon through an encrypted chat application, the report stated. Identified as "Individual A" in the affidavit, the man told agents that Colon allegedly said the two men could watch child pornography videos together at the observatory in September, the report added.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Christopher B. Colon (Photo via Illinois State Police)