Lake County sex offender arrested for possession of child pornography: officials

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. – A registered sex offender in Lake County is behind bars after authorities found child pornography on his cellphone, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Thomas Rix, 57, was arrested after investigators received a tip that he may have uploaded child pornography to social media.

Authorities attempted to locate Rix on Sept. 24 at his home in the 100 block of Sheridan Road in Winthrop Harbor. However, they later discovered that Rix had changed his registered address about a week before a home in the 1600 block of 2nd Avenue, also in Winthrop Harbor.

Investigators contacted Rix, who agreed to meet at the Winthrop Harbor Police Department.

During an interview with law enforcement, Rix told officers that he had been living in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, for several days and was no longer living in Winthrop Harbor.

The Illinois Attorney General's Cyber ​​Crimes Unit, which was on the scene, analyzed Rix's phone and found several images he had taken of a girl under the age of 8, officials said.

Some of the images showed the girl in her underwear and at least one of them was a pornographic image, the sheriff's office said.

Further investigation revealed that Rix knew the girl from when he lived in his previous apartment and that he had taken the photos then.

Investigators are working to obtain search warrants to analyze other electronic devices in Rix's possession.

After reviewing the case, the child pornography charge was approved by the Lake County District Attorney's Office. Rix's next court appearance is scheduled for October 23 at 1:30 p.m