Aurora man gets 109-year sentence for sexual abuse, child pornography convictions
An Aurora man who once wondered if he was the target of TV show that investigates predators has been sentenced to 109 years in prison for sexual abuse and child pornography crimes.
Ronald Lye, 54, was sentenced Friday by Kane County Judge David Kliment.
Kliment convicted Lye Jan. 9 of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, manufacturing child pornography and possessing child pornography.
Lye, of the 1600 block of Fairwood Place, must serve at least 50% of the sentence before being eligible for parole, and has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
He was accused of driving to a 13-year-old boy’s home to pick him up, taking the boy to his home, and sexually abusing him between April 1 and May 7, 2020, according to court records and trial testimony.
The two had met via the Grindr dating app, according to testimony at the trial. Lye gave the boy beer and margaritas and dressed him in costumes, according to the boy’s testimony.
During his conversations with the teen, Lye wondered if was being targeted by a television show that exposes child sexual abusers, according to an application police filed to get a search warrant for Lye’s phone.
“Why do I feel like I am going to be on ‘To Catch A Predator?’” Lye messaged the teen.
According to court records, Lye was charged twice in 1999 and once in 1998 with impersonating a police officer.