Streamwood man charged with sharing child pornography

A 22-year-old Streamwood man remains in custody after being charged Wednesday with both possession and dissemination of child pornography.

Omar Reyes was ordered to stay at Cook County Jail following his initial appearance Thursday at the courthouse in Rolling Meadows.

A Cook County Sheriff’s Police investigation determined Reyes had shared child sexual abuse materials via a social media app, Sheriff Thomas Dart said.

The sheriff’s police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit began an investigation in July after receiving tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a social media user had uploaded and shared such materials.

Investigators learned through search warrants that the account’s IP address returned to a residence on the 700 block of Krause Avenue in Streamwood and images of child sexual abuse were confirmed to be from the account.

On Tuesday, the investigators executed a search warrant at that residence where they reported finding Reyes and learning he had sent and received the materials through social media.

Reyes was immediately taken into custody and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the charges against him the following day.

Sheriff’s police said their ICAC Unit investigations have led to charges against 59 people in cases involving victimization of children and child pornography since 2020.