By George Houde
Special to the Tribune
Published December 30, 2006
A Wheeling man charged with molesting an 8-year old boy at a suburban Wal-Mart store was ordered held on $2.5 million bond Saturday.
Kenneth J. Vernon, 38, of the 1600 block of Hadley Court, appeared before Judge James Etchingham in the Rolling Meadows branch of the Cook County Circuit Court. Vernon is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and battery stemming from a Dec. 9 incident at a Mt. Prospect Wal-Mart.
Authorities identified Vernon, a registered sex offender, from the store’s video surveillance tapes and tried to question him at his home after the incident too place, authorities said. But, he managed to escape.
Shortly thereafter, he fled and was found in Oklahoma where state police arrested him Dec. 15, authorities said. Prosecutors asked Etchingham to set bail at $2 million but the judge raised it to $2.5 million, citing concerns about Vernon being a flight risk.
In Saturday’s hearing, prosecutors alleged that Vernon stalked the boy in the store for about 30 minutes and led him to an area where he fondled the child. The man allegedly told the boy “it’s our secret” before letting him go.
The boy told his mother of the incident and she notified authorities, police said.
Following his capture, Vernon waived extradition from Oklahoma and was returned to Illinois by Mt. Prospect police on Friday.
Prosecutors said Vernon made a video tape statement to police. In that statement, he claims to have been motivated to carry out the crime by something he heard while attending sex-offender counseling.
