Four Charged Sexually Abusing Child Met Through Craiglist Ad

EVANSTON, Ill. (STMW) -- Police have arrested four men in connection with the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy who offered to perform sex acts through Craigslist.

The investigation began in August 2013 when police became aware of the advertisement on the Internet trading site in which the victim was soliciting sex, said Cmdr. Jay Parrott of the Evanston police department.

The boy's parents cooperated with police to determine the sexual interactions their son had with numerous individuals from the website, Parrott said. He noted that the investigation required the recovery of email messages, computer records and cell phone billing information for the individuals who responded to the ad.

The most recent arrest came Friday when police picked up Glenn A. Lapidus, 46, of 2037 N. Bissell Ave., in Chicago. He is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony; indecent solicitation of a child, a Class 3 felony; solicitation to meet a minor, a Class 4 felony; patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution, a Class 2 felony; and traveling to meet a minor, a Class 3 felony.

Lapidus, a former executive at IBM, was recently named senior vice president and general manager of high tech practices at Merkle, according to a release issued by the company in December.

Jonathan Labe, 54, of 908 Reba Place in Evanston, was arrested on Jan. 24. He is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child, solicitation to meet a minor, patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution and multiple counts of endangering the life or health of a child and contributing to the criminal delinquency of a minor, both misdemeanors.

Cook County prosecutors have previously said Labe put an ad on Craigslist seeking sex with an 18-year-old. The 14-year-old answered the ad, and they began texting, arranging a visit to Labe's home. The teen told Labe he was under 17 in the text messages, according to prosecutors, who said the boy went to Labe's home Oct. 16 and 17 and engaged in sex acts with him.

Vaselin K. Minev, 43, of 6236 Lincoln Ave., Morton Grove, was arrested on Feb. 25. Minev is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child, solicitation to meet a minor, patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution, and traveling to meet a minor.

Alejandro Costilla, 43, of 5803 N. Campbell Ave., Chicago, was arrested on March 3. He is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution.

All four men have been processed and are on bond awaiting further criminal proceedings in the Cook County Criminal Court system, Parrott said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)