Wheeling man charged with sexually abusing teen he met on social media

A 28-year-old Wheeling man has been charged with sexually abusing a teenage girl he met through a social media dating site.

Raymond O'Donnell was charged Thursday with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

O'Donnell, who has no criminal background, was ordered held on a $25,000 I-bond, meaning he does not have to post any money to be released from custody. However, he does have to abide by a 7 p.m.-to-7 a.m. curfew, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say O'Donnell met the girl, then 16, online through a dating application in June 2018. He met up with her on July 3 at a movie theater, where he kissed her and engaged in sexual activity, prosecutors said.

The defendant and the girl continued to communicate through social media and video chats, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Ryan DeGroot, adding the "majority of the messages were sexual in nature."

Police learned of the sexual contact in August, DeGroot said. The girl told authorities she "informed the defendant she was 16 years old on more than one occasion," DeGroot said.

O'Donnell next appears in court on Jan. 31.