Sheriff: Missing Massachusetts juvenile found with 42-year-old registered Illinois offender

An Illinois man is facing multiple felony charges after Sheriff’s Police detectives learned he allegedly groomed and travelled to engage in sexual acts with an underage victim over the last year.

Cook County Sheriff’s Police detectives received a tip from law enforcement in the Boston, Massachusetts area regarding a missing juvenile who was linked to the offender, 42-year-old Weston Opas of Glenview.

Detectives learned that Opas made initial contact with the victim last year through on online gaming app and continued his contact via text messaging. During this time, Opas traveled to the Boston area numerous times to meet with the victim and engage in sexual acts. An analysis of the victim’s phone revealed Opas had knowledge of the victim’s age.

According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, on October 26, detectives identified that the victim was residing at the offender’s home and attempted to make contact but were met with negative results. Sheriff’s Police patrol officers and detectives immediately requested, obtained, and executed a search warrant at the residence, where they recovered the victim and arrested Opas. At the residence, detectives also found Opas, a convicted sex offender was in possession of a firearm, ammunition, and body armor.

The victim was temporarily placed into the care of the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services until relatives arrived in Chicago to take custody.

In 2004, Opas was convicted in a child pornography case out of Orange County, Florida. In September of this year, he was charged in Cook County with violating sex offender registration laws after he was found in a school zone.

On October 28, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved felony charges of one count each of Traveling to Meet a Child, Grooming, Felon in Possession/Use of a Firearm with Body Armor, and Failure to Report Annually/Sex Offender Registry. He was ordered held in custody at the Cook County Jail at his initial appearance on Sunday. He appeared again Tuesday for a status hearing at the Skokie Courthouse where a judge ordered him held until his next court hearing scheduled for Nov. 16.