Prosecutors: Naperville teen victim of mom’s online date

A New York man traveled to Naperville to visit a woman he met online, then sexually molested her teen daughter, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Darren J. Kirkland, 26, of Endicott, New York, was ordered held on $100,000 bail on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and domestic battery.

Kirkland flew into Chicago on Saturday to visit a Naperville woman with whom he had developed a dating relationship online, police said. After staying at the woman’s home for two days, he approached her 16-year-old daughter in a darkened kitchen as she prepared for school, said Assistant State’s Attorney Louisa Nuckolls.

“The next thing (the teen) knew, the defendant was in the kitchen kissing her neck and reaching under her clothes,” Nuckolls said in bond court.

The mother confronted Kirkland after she learned what happened, Nuckolls said. Kirkland then punched her several times, according to the charges.

Nuckolls said Kirkland claimed he believed the victim was 17 years old, but the victim’s mother maintained he knew the girl was 16.

DuPage County Judge Thomas Else set bail at $50,000 each for the domestic battery and sexual abuse charges, meaning Kirkland would have to post $10,000 to bond out of jail. The judge also barred the defendant from having contact with minors.

Kirkland is next scheduled to appear Feb. 27 before Judge Blanche Hill Fawell. He has no known prior criminal record, authorities said.