Storage locker auction could prompt child porn charges in Kane assault case

A seemingly innocuous auction of contents of an Arlington Heights storage locker after a man let rent payments lapse because he was in jail could result in child pornography charges against him, according to court records.

Robert A. Shachter, 50, formerly of Elgin and now of the 400 block of Gregory Avenue, Glendale Heights, was arrested in May and charged with predatory sexual assault and sexual abuse.

The charges were filed after a girl told investigators at the Kane County Children's Advocacy Center she was sexually assaulted and abused by Shachter when she was 7 or 8 and living in Elgin, according to court records.

At the time of his arrest, Shachter was renting a storage unit in Arlington Heights but failed to make payments while he was in jail and the contents were later sold at auction, according to court records.

"The new owner who bought the contents began to go through them and found a great deal of what was described as child pornography," according to an affidavit used to secure a search warrant.

Authorities believe some of the photos may be of the victim in a bathroom of an Elgin apartment on the 400 block of Summit Street, according to the warrant.

Police recently served a search warrant at the apartment to take photos of the bathroom to see if they match the pictures from the storage locker and a diagram of the apartment drawn by the victim, according to the warrant.

Shachter was being held at the Kane County jail on $250,000 bail, meaning he must post $25,000 to be released while the case is pending.

He appeared briefly in court Friday and is next due in court Jan. 23, records show.

If convicted of the most severe charges, Shachter faces up to 30 years in prison and must register as a sex offender for life.