Illinois man sentenced to 7 years in prison for involuntary sexual servitude of minors

KANE COUNTY, Ill. — An Illinois man was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to state charges of traveling, arranging and paying to have sex with children.

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Aurora (Illinois) Police Department.

William Shyu, 32, of Lisle, Illinois, agreed to a seven-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for pleading guilty to involuntary sexual servitude of a minor. Kane County Circuit Judge John A. Barsanti accepted Shyu’s plea Dec. 2.  

Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Christine Bayer stated during the plea hearing that on March 27, 2015, Shyu drove to an Aurora hotel and met with a person he believed was the mother of two minor girls.  Shyu confirmed with that person that he wanted sexual favors for 30 minutes with the two minor girls in exchange for $100, and then paid the person $100 in cash. Shyu was subsequently arrested by HSI special agents and Aurora Police Department officers.

When interviewed by authorities, Shyu acknowledged that his intent was to have sex with the children.  During this undercover operation, no minor was ever present with or had any contact with Shyu.

Shyu remains free on $40,000 bond; he was ordered by Judge Barsanti to surrender to the court Jan. 6, 2017, to begin serving his prison sentence.

“Child sex trafficking – human trafficking of any kind – is unconscionable,” said Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon. “Yet these crimes take place quite frequently in our communities, even here in Kane County. Our office, like law enforcement at all levels across the country, remains committed to wiping out child exploitation. This conviction sends a strong message that there is little tolerance for and acceptance of such dark behavior.”

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.