#Former Illinois sheriff’s sergeant charged with sexually abusing teens

A retired sheriff’s sergeant in Illinois has been charged with sexually abusing two girls and hosting parties at his home where he provided alcohol and drugs to teens, police said.

John P. Pradun, a 62-year-old former sergeant for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested Friday at his home in Wilmette, where detectives found Xanax and its generic equivalent, as well evidence of child porn on an electronic storage device, police said Saturday.

An investigation into Pradun started earlier this month after police got a tip of possible sexual abuse involving a minor, Wilmette Deputy Police Chief Patrick Collins said.

A subsequent investigation found that Pradun victimized two girls, ages 15 and 14, within the last month, including by showing them a nude photo of himself on his phone, police said.

Prosecutors claim in court documents cited by the Chicago Tribune that the two teens regularly went to Pradun’s home, where he hosted parties with other girls in which alcohol was supplied to the minors.

During the gatherings, Pradun also offered the girls marijuana, cigarettes and Xanax, prosecutors said, adding that the teens knew he had previously worked in law enforcement and referred to him by the nickname “Po-Po.”

Prosecutors claim Pradun drove a group of juveniles to another location after one of his parties earlier this month and showed the girls an X-rated photo of himself, the Tribune reports.

He then pulled over after dropping off two girls and asked the remaining girl in the car with him if he could trust her before sexually abusing her, prosecutors said.

Police learned of the allegations when the father of another girl from the same high school as the victim overheard his daughter and her friends discussing the incident, court records show.

Another family later told Wilmette police their 14-year-old daughter had been assaulted by Pradun at his home, according to prosecutors.

Pardun, who has no prior criminal record, is now facing charges including aggravated sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child and possession of child pornography.

Pardun, who retired in November after 26 years with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, was ordered held on $150,000 ahead of a scheduled court appearance in Skokie Tuesday, the Tribune reports.