Ford Heights Park District Commissioner Charged with Kidnapping

COOK COUNTY, IL – A Ford Heights Park District Commissioner has been charged with kidnapping a 9-year-old girl and chasing a group of children with a gun June 11. 

Just before 10 p.m., Charles Howard invited a group of children to his front yard in the 1500 block of Deer Creek Drive to check out a pair of 3-D smartphone goggles. Three of the children left, but the girl stayed behind at the 56-year-old's home, according to a release from the Cook County Sheriff's Department. 

When others in the group did not see the girl after some time, they and others in the neighborhood began looking for her, including asking Howard if he had seen her. Howard, according to the investigation, told them he did not know where she was.

Another group of juveniles, who were helping in the search, found the girl in Howard’s backyard asleep in the lawn chair with other items covering her. They got her out, and she was taken to an area hospital for a medical evaluation. She did not appear to be injured.

When those juveniles asked Howard about what had happened, he chased the group down the street with a handgun.

Howard, a Ford Heights Park District Commissioner, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. His bond was set at $500,000 during his court appearance Tuesday at the Markham Courthouse.