A 28-year-old Chicago man has been charged with sex offenses against three youths, including a 14-year-old boy whose naked body was found in Lincoln Park, according to an item in the Chicago Tribune.
Shawn Thigpen, of the 8100 block of South Peoria, has been charged with three counts of felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse, but not with causing the death of Michael Williams, authorities said. Police spokesman Pat Camden told Windy City Times that there is not yet enough evidence to charge Thigpen with Williams's death, but that the investigation is 'definitely ongoing.' The suspect's three alleged victims included Williams, a South Side teen who disappeared Aug. 17, and whose nude body was found in the 2700 block of North Lake Shore in Lincoln Park. The Cook County medical examiner's office said Williams died of suffocation.
Williams was sexually assaulted. The father, also named Michael Williams, told the Tribune that he suspected his son had been targeted through his use of a Chicago telephone chat line popular with some teens. Police said that they matched Thigpen's DNA to the Williams case and to instances of alleged sexual abuse involving two other juveniles.
