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September 22, 2005
Man Accused Of Abusing Boy Who Was Found Dead
Police: Charges May Be Upgraded
CHICAGO -- A 28-year-old man was charged with sex offenses against a 14-year-old boy whose body was found naked in Lincoln Park in mid August, police said Thursday.
Shawn Thigpen, of Chicago, was charged late Wednesday with three counts of felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was to appear for a bond hearing Thursday, according to police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak.
Thigpen is accused of sexually abusing Michael Smith Jr., whose body was found in Lincoln Park Aug. 18, Kubiak said.
Cook County state's attorney's office spokesman Tom Stanton said that the three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse were filed against Thigpen involved Williams and two other unrelated victims.
Stanton said in both the Williams case, which occurred on Aug. 18, and the second case, which occurred in March 2004, the defendant allegedly met his victims on an Internet chat line.
Police matched Thigpen's DNA to the Williams case and two previous cases also involving juveniles, police News Affairs Director Pat Camden said.
Police said Williams was found face down in a park at 2758 N. Lake Shore Dr., wearing only a sock, News Affairs Officer Patrice Harper said in August.
An autopsy determined the boy had been suffocated in a homicide, a Cook County medical examiner's office spokeswoman said.
Kubiak said Thigpen was not charged with murder but charges could be upgraded in the future and referred inquiries to the Cook County state's attorney's office. An official with that office could not be reached Thursday morning.
William's family reported him missing on Aug. 18. His father told NBC5 that he believed his son was lured by somebody on a phone chat line.
Michael Williams Sr. said he believed his son was using the chat lines because his cell phone bill was extremely high. He said his son had never been to that part of the city before, and had no reason to be there, NBC5 reported.
Police didn't say whether the phone chat lines were directly linked to Michael Williams Jr.'s murder, but were looking into his phone records during the course of the investigation.
The younger Williams was a junior deacon at his church and was about to begin the eighth grade at Vernon Johns Community Academy.
Posted by Nealus at September 22, 2005 09:40 PM
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