Cook County sheriff names Arlington Heights man charged in child sexual abuse material case
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart identified the man charged with dissemination and possession of child sexual abuse material following a search warrant executed on June 16.
2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 15, 2026, 5:26 p.m. ET
Earlier reports
Aug 15, 2026, 5:26 p.m. ETFirst report
Arlington Heights man charged with dissemination, possession of child sexual abuse material
A man from Arlington Heights, Illinois, has been charged with felony Dissemination and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material, the Cook County Sheriff's Office said. Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said the Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved the charges on June 17, the same day police took the man into custody. He remains in custody.
According to the account given by Sheriff Dart, the Cook County Sheriff's Police Internet Crimes Against Children and Cyber Trafficking units began investigating multiple cybertips regarding uploaded child sexual abuse material files on Dec. 5. Investigators met the man at a North Windsor Drive address in Arlington Heights on June 10 and took possession of his cell phone, the sheriff said, and executed a search warrant on the phone on June 16, finding more than 150 files of explicit images and videos of children.
On June 18, following a first appearance hearing at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse, the man — identified by Sheriff Dart and the Cook County Sheriff's Office as Ian Stehmeier — was ordered into the custody of the Cook County Jail.
The sheriff's office records the incident location at block-level granularity as a Jewel grocery store in the 1800 block of South Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights. The office's account does not state how that location relates to the sequence of events it described. The Cook County Sheriff's Police and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office are the responding agencies. The case is at an early stage and the charges have not been tested in court; no further details have been released.
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Revision history
- Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:26current
First published.
- Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:33current
First published.
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