Naperville man charged with leaving underwear, porn along Prairie Path

A Naperville man accused of leaving pornography and used women's underwear along a path in Pratt's Wayne Woods has been charged with obscenity, disorderly conduct and littering, authorities said Wednesday.

William Winnie, 67, of the 1100 block of Greensfield Drive, is accused of leaving the items along the Illinois Prairie Path on several occasions since October. He is free on bail.

DuPage forest preserve police arrested him on Dec. 2 after officers hiding along the trail saw Winnie ride his bike across a bridge and retrieve a pair of women's underwear in a resealable bag, authorities said.

Chief David Pederson said a female jogger first noticed the items in mid-October along the Elgin branch of the path in the preserve near Wayne.

"As someone who uses the trail regularly, she was pretty disturbed and alarmed by what she had found," Pederson said.

Between Oct. 17 and Dec. 2, forest preserve officers monitored tree-mounted trail cameras in the area and conducted plainclothes surveillance, often finding used underwear along with pornographic images.

Police said a man matching Winnie's description was seen visiting the area on his bicycle and appeared to be checking on the items.

After officers arrested him on Dec. 2, they searched Winnie and found a pornographic picture in a resealable plastic bag, a police report said.

Winnie said he had discarded a pair of underwear at the bridge a week earlier and showed officers a bag containing the clothing, according to authorities.

"Winnie further stated that he regularly finds women's underwear hanging from trees along the Prairie Path, collects them, takes them home, and redeposits them in plastic bags along the trail," according to the police report.

Winnie told officers he is an avid bicyclist who leaves from home in Naperville, rides through Herrick Lake Forest Preserve and then connects to the Prairie Path. He said he began collecting the underwear in the summer of 2016 and was "conducting an experiment," police said.

His first court date is scheduled for Jan. 8.