DeKalb man allegedly had child sex abuse images on Snapchat account: Police

DeKALB – A DeKalb man is facing charges after police allegedly found hundreds of images on his cellphone depicting child sexual abuse, according to DeKalb County court records.

Michael E. Ramirez II, 23, is charged with 10 counts of possession of images depicting child sex abuse, a class 2 felony. If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison.

In a police interview, Ramirez allegedly admitted to deputies that he had the images and “said he had been collecting them on his cell for about ‘a year,’ ” police wrote in court records filed July 11.

Ramirez was arrested July 11 by DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies acting on a cybertip the sheriff’s office received from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, according to court records. The attorney general’s office referred a case from its Crimes Against Children Task Force. The tip initially came from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after social media platform Snapchat reported an image allegedly on Ramirez’s account, records show.

Snapchat reported that images allegedly were shared in a chat, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff’s deputies searched the Snapchat account through a warrant and also searched the account’s related emails and Ramirez’s cellphone records, authorities said.

Deputies seized Ramirez’s phone July 10 and searched it. They found hundreds of images depicting the abuse, according to records.

Ramirez was initially taken into police custody at DeKalb County Jail. He has since been granted pretrial release after a July 12 ruling by Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick.

In her ruling, Buick said that prosecutors did not file a petition to deny Ramirez release, according to court records. Buick’s order prohibits Ramirez from contacting minors or using the internet.

He’s next expected to appear for arraignment at 9 a.m. Aug. 28.