Lake Co. gas station worker arrested for inappropriate sexual behavior

An employee at another Mundelein gas station is facing charges for inappropriate sexual behavior with customers, police said.

This time the confrontation occurred at the Marathon station at 301 Townline Road, police said. Employees at two other stations in town are facing charges for separate incidents.

The suspect in the most recent case was arrested Oct. 24 after he told a female customer who had just purchased gas and a lottery ticket she could win $40 by sleeping with him, police said.

"She didn't take up the offer" but instead went to police, Mundelein police Sgt. John Monahan said.

Benjamin J. Brophy, 32, of 301 Cherrywood Court, Vernon Hills, was charged with solicitation of a sexual act and disorderly conduct.

He is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 9.

Incidents at two other Mundelein gas stations came to light last month.

An employee at the Shell station at 2250 S. Route 83 was arrested after police said he hid a video camera in a women's restroom. Julio C. Gomez-Valerio, 37, of 950 Cherry Valley Road, Apt. 207, Vernon Hills, was charged with felony unauthorized video recording.

A woman using the bathroom found the camera and contacted police.

The other case involves several incidents at the Clark station at 4 E. Hawley St.

In separate confrontations dating to March 2005, station employees inappropriately touched one woman and solicited sexual acts from four others, according to village documents.

The most recent confrontation at the Clark station occurred in August.

Employees were arrested after three of the incidents. Police have been unable to identify suspects in the others, Rose said.

Village officials are considering revoking the station owner's business license, which would shut it down.

On Friday, Mundelein Trustee Ray Semple called the cases embarrassing.

"There definitely appears to be some sort of pattern here that is not good," he said.

Semple wondered if police should start sting operations to see how gas station employees treat customers.