Prosecutors: Palatine High School teacher’s aide was sharing child sex abuse materials
A Palatine High School teacher’s aide has been charged with possessing and sharing child sexual abuse material online, prosecutors said Friday.
Bradley Robertson, 41, is charged with eight counts of reproduction of child pornography with a victim under 13 and possession of child pornography, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
Authorities said Robertson used the instant messaging application Kik to upload or share at least three files depicting child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, and discussed sharing images with other users of the app.
According to court documents, investigators received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children earlier this year about child pornography used on Kik. Investigators executed search warrants to obtain the IP address, email address, phone number and home address of the suspected account, which was linked back to Robertson, prosecutors said.
An Illinois State Police SWAT team, the state’s attorney’s internet Crimes Against Children Unit and Palatine police executed a search warrant at Robertson’s home on June 17 and seized three laptop computers. Later that day, Robertson turned himself in at the Palatine Police Department, authorities said.
Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 school board meeting minutes from November and December show Robertson was employed as a part-time special education teacher for a portion of the first and second semesters of the 2024-2025 school year.
“The safety and security of our students is our top priority, and the values of trust, integrity and respect remain central at Palatine High School,” said district spokeswoman Erin Holmes. “We have been made aware of the situation, and this remains an open personnel investigation. The individual is incarcerated, and the district is reviewing his employment status.”
Robertson remains at the Cook County jail following his initial court appearance June 19. He was arraigned July 28, and is due back in court Aug. 28.