Naperville man admits molesting girl

A Naperville man faces up to 77 years in prison for molesting a girl, beginning when she was 8, and threatening to shoot her mother when she tried to break free from his abuse.

Stephen D. Silvey, 47, of 103 S. Testa Ave., pleaded guilty Thursday to predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, intimidation and possession of child pornography.

DuPage Circuit Judge Peter J. Dockery set an Aug. 20 sentencing date.

Afterward, Silvey faces trial on child molestation charges of another girl in Texas.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett called Silvey a "sexual predator" and applauded the girl, now 17, for having the courage to come forward in 2007 after suffering years of physical and sexual abuse.

"We intend to seek the maximum punishment," Birkett said.

Silvey began sexually assaulting the girl in December 1999 after befriending her parents, who employed him as a delivery person for their family business. In the beginning, Silvey lived in Oklahoma but often stayed at their Naperville home on weekends. He later moved into a Naperville apartment.

Silvey admitted repeatedly molesting the girl beginning in December 1999 through 2001 and October 2004 through February 2007. The allegations surfaced that March when the girl told her brother, a boyfriend and later confided in her parents.

They went to the police.

On March 9, 2007, after obtaining a court-sanctioned eavesdrop order, police secretly recorded a conversation between the girl and Silvey in which he incriminated himself, prosecutor Demetri Demopoulos said.

"The defendant indicated he would stop when he was ready, on his own terms," Demopoulos said. "He also threatened her and said he had a bullet for her mother."

The child pornography charge grew from a search of Silvey's apartment, where police said they found an illicit image of a bound, nude child engaged in a sex act on the hard drive of Silvey's computer. He also showed the Naperville girl child pornography throughout their relationship, according to court documents.

Silvey, who formerly served in the Air Force, is college-educated and does not have a prior criminal record. He remains held without bond in the DuPage County jail.