Elgin man twice accused of violating woman’s order of protection is ordered held in McHenry County jail

An Elgin man accused of posting an “explicit photo” of a Marengo woman on Snapchat, printing the photo onto a T-shirt and twice violating an order of protection has been detained in McHenry County jail, court records show.

In September 2024, Michael Whitsey, 29, was charged with five counts of nonconsensual dissemination of a private sexual image, Class 4 felonies, according to a criminal complaint and indictment filed in McHenry County court.

According to a petition for an order of protection the woman filed in 2024, Whitsey had been “non-stop” contacting her “for over two years” before having the image printed onto a T-shirt and posting it to Snapchat. A woman also wore the shirt while dancing in a video that was also posted to Snapchat, the petition said.

The posts “were on Snapchat for everyone to see,“ she wrote. The woman said she learned about the posts when she received calls from her family members, according to the petition.

The order of protection is in place until Oct. 5, 2026, records show.

Whitsey was charged with the felonies in January. After making his first court appearance, he was released from the county jail pending trial. He was ordered to have no contact or communication with the alleged victim and to obey the order of protection, according to the pretrial release order.

Records show that in August, he was accused of violating the order of protection and charged with a misdemeanor. He was arrested and made his first court appearance Oct. 18, but was released with conditions, including that he not contact the woman.

But earlier this month, Whitsey was back in custody, accused of having violated the protection order twice in one day in September by making a “threatening” phone call to the woman, resulting in another misdemeanor charge, court records show.

When Whitsey was back in court Dec. 3, Assistant State’s Attorney Zachariah Sitkiewicz cited the initial felony case, alleged violations of pretrial release and the order of protection. He said Whitsey’s recent conduct “shows a real threat” under the “intimidation and abuse” criteria required to detain a person pretrial..

Assistant Public Defender David Giesinger argued for Whitsey’s release with conditions. Prosecutors filed the complaint in the current matter “over two months ago,” seemingly suggesting there was a “delay” in arresting him despite the state saying they feel “he made a threat,” Giesinger said.

But Judge Cynthia Lamb agreed with the prosecutor, saying “proof is evident (Whitsey) violated a detainable offense and he poses a threat.” She said he “made a conscious decision” to violate the order of protection by calling the woman twice.