How a suburban prosecutor hopes to close the technology gap with online predators
Despite her success in prosecuting child exploitation cases — 93 of them since she launched a special unit dedicated to the task in 2022 — Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser acknowledges that perpetrators “always seem to be one step ahead of us” technologically.
That’s why she gratefully accepted a $1 million check Wednesday from U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi to upgrade her office’s technology and case management system.
“These are not easy cases to investigate,” Mosser said.
Nor are they easy to manage. Prosecuting just one case can mean accessing, reviewing, cataloging and storing thousands of digital files.
Zeus Flores, the director of digital forensics for Mosser, said among the things the money will buy is a forensic area network — a dedicated, encrypted server on which to preserve and analyze digital evidence.
Evidence storage needs have increased along with the storage capabilities of devices, like computers and smartphones, Flores noted.
And suspected child predators and human traffickers usually have more than one device that needs to be searched for evidence.
Krishnamoorthi, the Schaumburg Democrat who’s in his final months in Congress, obtained the funding through the federal Community Oriented Policing Services’ Technology and Equipment Program.
“Unfortunately, the bad guys are getting away with more and more human and sex exploitation, especially of our children, but also of various members of our community, and they are leaving a forensic trail that is digital in nature,” he said.
“Current equipment is not designed to properly process, digest and enable us to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.”
The stats
Since Mosser teamed with the Kane County Sheriff’s Office to start the Kane County Child Exploitation Unit four years ago, it has brought charges against 93 people for crimes such as possession of child sexual abuse material.
Investigators from the unit have obtained more than 500 search warrants and examined more than 750 devices to document the allegations, she said.
Mosser noted Wednesday that those charged have come from all walks of life, including law enforcement officers, clergy and business leaders.
“These individuals live in plain sight in all our communities,” she said.
Khat’s happening
In some parts of the world — especially the Middle East and East Africa — khat is a popular pick-me-up like caffeine is here.
It’s also more powerful and addictive, which is why the plant-based stimulant is illegal in the United States, across Europe and in many other nations.
That didn’t stop accused smugglers from trying to sneak more than 1,170 pounds of it — street value about $140,000 — into the country last week via O’Hare International Airport, federal authorities say.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, its officers found the khat in the luggage of three passengers arriving from the West African nation of Senegal.
The first bust occurred Aug. 19, when officers inspected the bags of two travelers who landed at O’Hare before connecting with a flight headed to LaGuardia International Airport in New York. A search of their luggage turned up 167 packages of khat weighing a combined 755 pounds, authorities said.
The next day, officers searched the luggage of another traveler arriving from Senegal and discovered 93 packages of khat totaling 417 pounds, according to CBP.
All three were arrested, and local prosecutors are charging them with controlled substance trafficking and manufacture/delivery of 200+ grams of a controlled substance, officials said.
Khat busts aren’t just happening at O’Hare. Officers seized 412 pounds and 847 pounds of khat, respectively, in separate seizures two weeks ago at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and another 368 pounds at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., according to CBP.
Since October 2023, CBP officers and agents have seized about 65,000 pounds of khat, authorities say.
Also known as Abyssinian tea and African salad, khat is either chewed for its amphetaminelike effect or used to create a stimulant tea, federal law enforcement officials say. The World Health Organization classified khat as a drug of abuse in 1980.
Second chance at a second chance
If you missed last year’s Second Chance Summit hosted by Cook County Circuit Clerk Mariyana Spyropoulos, she’s planning a sequel.
Spyropoulos’ office will host a second edition of the summit from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 10, in Building U of Kennedy-King College in Chicago.
The event will help people eligible to clear their past criminal records. Attendees can get free legal guidance, and petitions for expungement or record sealing will be prepared on-site.
Registration is required, and submission of a RAP (record of arrests and prosecutions) sheet is mandatory. To register, visit cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/form/second-chance-summit.
“I am proud that we were able to assist hundreds of Cook County residents last year,” Spyropoulos said in an announcement of the upcoming event.
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