Vernon Hills police clarify arrest of registered sex offender near school

A McHenry man is being held on felony charges of failing to register as a sex offender and loitering in a school zone as a child sex offender involving a situation on the morning of Sept. 17 near the Hawthorn Elementary District 73 north campus.

Responding to community concerns, Vernon Hills police in a news release Tuesday clarified and provided detail of the circumstances that led to charges against Timothy McKinney-Murphy, 42.

According to police, a community service officer doing parking and traffic enforcement saw a pickup truck illegally parked on Hawthorn Parkway near Elementary North with an “extremely large” teddy bear in the bed of the truck.

Checking a law enforcement database, the community service officer learned the owner was a registered child sex offender and notified police. A school resource officer worked with detectives and launched an investigation.

At the same time, a safety plan was implemented to ensure the area and vehicle were monitored at all times students were present, Deputy Chief Shannon Holubetz said.

Information obtained suggested McKinney-Murphy regularly spent time at his girlfriend’s home on Washington Court, which was within 500 feet of Hawthorn Elementary North and Cynthia T. Peterson park, Holubetz said.

“We know we have a registered child sex offender. The teddy bear raised another level of suspicion,” Holubetz said. He said police were not aware of McKinney-Murphy approaching or making contact with any students.

In a social media post Monday, police said they had probable cause for an arrest within about 24 hours after interviews with McKinney-Murphy, a key witness and an evaluation of the facts “in light of complex Illinois law.”

Holubetz said McKinney-Murphy had not declared as a child sex offender with Vernon Hills as required by law. He was arrested Sept. 18 at his girlfriend’s home.

McKinney-Murphy is charged with one count of failing to register as a sex offender, five counts of loitering in a school zone as a child sex offender, both felonies, and one misdemeanor count of loitering near a public park as a child sex offender. He is being held at the Lake County jail pending trial. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 15.