Westmont man charged with showing pornography to 3 children at park, prosecutors say
Justano Rios | Westmont Police Department
WESTMONT, Ill. - A 66-year-old Westmont man faces felony and misdemeanor charges after allegedly showing pornography to three children at a public park Sunday afternoon.
Justano Rios, of the 100 block of West 63rd Street, is charged with one felony count of sexual exploitation of a child, two misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation of a child, three misdemeanor counts of distributing harmful material to a minor and one misdemeanor count of obstructing identification, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.
Children report incident at park
What we know:
Westmont police responded to Diane Main Park around 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, following reports of a man showing pornography to children.
Prosecutors said three children, ages 12, 13 and 14, were near a pavilion when they heard moaning noises coming from a bench where Rios was sitting and watching something on his phone.
When the children approached and asked what he was doing, Rios allegedly invited them to watch. Authorities said he then showed them pornography playing on his phone while appearing to rub his genitals over his clothing.
The children left the area and contacted police.
Suspect allegedly gave officers false information
Dig deeper:
Officers arrived at the park and questioned Rios, who allegedly provided a false name and repeatedly gave conflicting ages and dates of birth. He was subsequently taken into custody.
"The allegations that a grown man was not only watching pornography in a public park with children nearby, but then invited some of those children to watch with him are extremely disturbing," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said.
Berlin commended the children for reporting the incident and thanked Westmont police for their response.
Westmont Police Chief Brian Gruen also praised the children for their quick thinking and decision to alert authorities.
"Our public parks should always be safe spaces for families and children to enjoy without fear of illicit or predatory behavior," Gruen said.
Rios released with conditions
What's next:
Rios appeared in First Appearance Court on Monday, and was released from custody with conditions. He is prohibited from having contact with anyone under 18 and from entering park facilities.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 23.
The Source: The information in this report came from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office and the Westmont Police Department.