Berwyn Police Blotter
Chatroom sting snags man seeking child for sex
April 7, 2007, 6:20 PM
A Berwyn detective posing as a 14-year-old girl in an AOL chatroom was approached there on March 31st by a 40-year-old man who engaged in a grossly explicit sexual conversation with the supposed juvenile. On April 7, the man took the bait again, saying he wanted the “girl” to “look naughty” and meet at her house to “play”. He emailed a photo of himself, and arranged to meet the “girl” at 6:30 PM in the 2400 block of Scoville; the man told “her” he would bring beer.
Police put the block under surveillance. Right on time, a man who matched the emailed photo came walking up Scoville, stopping in front of the assignation address. Police could see he was carrying a six-pack of Miller Lite in a see-through plastic bag. The man then went to the back of the address and placed the beer over the fence and into the yard. As he left the alley he was stopped by police; he said “It’s a setup, I knew it was a setup!”.
The man, Charles W. Popp of Chicago, was charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child. He told police he lives with his elderly parents and has five different screen names which he uses to sit in their basement at the computer and chat with hundreds of 14-year-old girls. He said he has never actually met any young girls in person. He agreed to let police search his computer, which he said might contain images of naked children, ages 7 to 14. He said he was sent these images by a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl. He says he “flirts” with juveniles but knows it’s wrong. He also admitted traveling to Berwyn in order to meet a 14-year-old girl and have sex with her.
April 8, 2:38 AM
The booking officer on duty reported the prisoner, Charles Popp, who was on suicide watch, had broken the lens from his glasses and was trying to use the shards to cut his wrists. He was treated by paramedics, shackled for his own safety and taken to MacNeal Hospital for treatment.
Next entry: Palos Park resident threatens man, scares woman
Previous entry: Saturday evening graffiti roundup