URBANA, Ill. – An alleged child exploitation ring based in Kankakee, Illinois that used social media to entice children into meetups to engage in sexual activity was exposed and weakened when fifteen area men were arrested by the FBI last weekend, the FBI reports.
The men have been charged in separate criminal complaints with attempted enticement of a child to engage in illegal sexual activity; some have also been charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children. The complaints were unsealed on Feb. 18, 2020, as each made their respective initial appearances in federal court in Urbana. Each was ordered detained pending hearings scheduled later this week.
According to the affidavits filed in support of the complaints, each of the men allegedly used various social media applications to contact and engage online with FBI covert employees posing as 14 and 15-year-old minors to make arrangements to meet the minor girl or boy with the intent to engage in sexual activity. Some of the men attempted to entice or coerce the minors to send them sexually explicit images.
As the men arrived at or near the designated address, in Bradley, Ill., they were arrested and taken into custody by FBI Special Agents; the Bradley Police Department; the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office; and, the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson is representing the government in the case prosecutions.
The defendants charged in this operation with attempted enticement of a minor are:
- Joshua T. Koenig, 27, of the 100 block of W. Main St. Buckley, Ill.;
- Jody L. Lagesse, 45, 1900 block of S. Schuyler Ave., Kankakee;
- Shane R. Ferris, 23, of the 1100 block of Coyote Run, Bourbonnais;
- Nick Vincent Senor, 25, of the 100 block of N. 8th Ave., Kankakee;
- Dale Martin Alvin Scering, 26, 400 block of Ivy Lane, Bradley;
- Robert Shawn Anderson, 50, 300 block of E. Spruce St., Paxton;
- Bryan Rossi, 29, 400 block of Titonka St., Park Forest; and,
- Timothy Lyle Dean, 37, 200 block of Spencer Ct., Bourbonnais.
The defendants charged in this operation with attempted enticement of a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a child are:
- Matthew T. Gribbon, 48, of the 1100 block of S. 5th Ave., Kankakee;
- Ryan I. Woodruff, 21, of the 600 block of S. Rosewood Ave, Kankakee;
- Anmol Chugh, 28, of the 400 block of W. Dewey St., Saint Anne;
- Kyren Williams, 30, of the 1000 block of S. Osborn Ave., Kankakee;
- Cole Montgomery, 25, of the 17300 block of 2400 North Rd., Danville;
- Joseph Adam Longanecker, 40, of the 100 block of Birch Ct., Manteno; and,
- Jazzie Simmons, 28, of the 200 block of Greenwood Ave., Kankakee.
If convicted, for the offense of attempted enticement of a minor, each defendant faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. For the offense of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, each defendant faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.
Members of the public are reminded that a complaint is merely an accusation; each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
