Des Plaines Man Caught in SVU Child Solicitation Sting

DES PLAINES, IL—A Des Plaines man was arrested Tuesday after Cook County's Special Victim's Unit organized a sting that caught him sending sexually explicit messages to someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy.

John Kaspari, 69, is charged with many felony offenses including possession of child pornography, aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor, indecent solicitation of a minor and grooming a minor.

SVU officers say they recovered multiple sexually explicit images and videos of children after Kaspari admitted to keeping child pornography on his phone.

Investigators first became aware of Kaspari's behavior from a teenager who told police he was getting inappropriate messages from the man over a social media app, according to Sheriff Thomas Dart. Officials were able to arrest Kaspari after taking over conversations between him and the young boy and arranging a meet.

SVU said the man promised the 13-year-old he wouldn't tell the boy's mom if the two of them met.

Investigators were waiting for Kaspari during the scheduled meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Franklin Park where they took him into custody. According to a statement from the Cook County Sheriff's Office, the man said he truly believed the person he was chatting with was a 13-year-old boy.

Kaspari will appear in bond court on Friday in Maywood.