Lake County sheriff nabs two on child solicitation charges

Lake County sheriff nabs two on child solicitation charges

The last digits of the license plate on Bruce Smith's 2006 Honda Civic are 1023, which is police radio code for "arrived at location."

Smith, who lives in south suburban Frankfort, arrived at a location Friday morning and found trouble, as a swarm of Lake County sheriff's detectives arrested him for seeking sex with a minor.

Smith's arrest was the second in as many days for the sheriff's office investigators who pose as children in Internet chat rooms and wait for adults to proposition them.

Anthony Mangioni, 45, of 1080 Manchester Court, Grayslake, was lured to the same location in unincorporated Lake County on Thursday under the same pretense.

The arrests come after years of publicity about police searching the Internet, thousands of arrests across the country and as many as 50 in Lake County.

"It makes sense to think that no one would be seeking sex with minors over the Internet because of all the attention that is paid to law enforcement activities," said Sgt. Tim Jonites, the lead investigator in both cases.

"But we could have detectives in the chat rooms 24 hours a day and never run out of things to do, simply because the desire is so strong in these people that it overwhelms their common sense."

Statistics lend strength to Jonites' supposition.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says 7 percent of children between 10 and 17 have gotten a sexual solicitation online. Four percent have had a solicitor try to arrange a meeting.

Smith, 58, told police he is the executive director of Information Technology at South Suburban College in South Holland.

Officials there could not be reached for comment Friday, but the community college's web site bears out Smith's claim.

Jonites said he has been exchanging e-mails and instant messages with Smith for about four months, who he connected with through a gay chat room.

He said Smith's correspondence was sexually graphic from the beginning, and he agreed to come to Lake County about two weeks after they first began chatting electronically.

"But he chickened out the first time, and sent me an e-mail saying he wanted to get to know me better before coming up here," Jonites said. "He was exceptionally cautious and kept telling me about how much trouble he could get into."

Police said Smith agreed to meet the boy he knew as "Scott" at 11 a.m. Friday.

Sheriff's detectives staked out the area in several unmarked cars and slipped in behind Smith's car as he approached the meeting place from the direction of the Tri-State Tollway.

As soon as Smith went into the parking lot of the place "Scott" had directed him to, the emergency lights and sirens were activated.

Smith turned hard left in an apparent attempt to pull around the police car directly behind him, but the second car in the line quickly filled the gap and blocked Smith in.

He surrendered without incident and Jonites said Smith admitted he had come there to have sex with "Scott."

Inside the trunk of the car, police found a gym bag containing pornographic movies, sex toys, condoms and a camera.

Jonites said Smith consented to a search of his home and police were on their way to Frankfort on Friday to seize his computer.

Assistant State's Attorney Patricia Fix said Smith is charged with indecent solicitation of a child and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Smith was ordered held on $100,000 bond and is due in court again Aug. 16.

Jonites said Mangioni was arrested two weeks after he first made contact with police via the Internet and is charged with indecent solicitation of a child and attempted criminal transmission of HIV.

Mangioni is being held on $100,000 bond and is due in court again Aug. 17.