A longtime Schaumburg village fleet manager took a trip to central Illinois this month that ended in handcuffs, according to authorities. Brian Rafferty, 41, was arrested after arriving in Germantown Hills as part of a Woodford County sheriff’s office predator sting. Deputies say he had driven there believing he would meet a 15-year-old and was taken into custody without incident. Rafferty has since resigned from his post with the village and now faces state charges in Woodford County.
According to the Daily Herald, Rafferty had served as Schaumburg’s Fleet Division Manager for nine years and was arrested on April 13. Prosecutors charged him with indecent solicitation of a child and grooming. The outlet reports that he was granted pretrial release and is due back in court on May 11.
The Woodford County Sheriff’s Office said in a social-media post that Rafferty’s arrest marked the Predator Apprehension Team’s 20th in roughly six months and warned that suspects’ vehicles could be seized, per 25NewsNow. The office added that operations are “thoroughly planned” to keep the public out of harm’s way. Officials also told reporters that many people caught in these stings are coming in from outside Woodford County.
How the sting worked
Investigators say deputies posed online as a teen and set up a meeting, then watched as Rafferty drove from northern Illinois to Germantown Hills, where members of the Proactive Unit arrested him, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. The Proactive Unit’s Predator Apprehension Team runs decoy profiles and selects meeting spots so officers can take subjects into custody before there is any contact with an actual minor.
Charges and court timeline
Rafferty is accused of indecent solicitation of a child and grooming and was released pending trial with a May 11 hearing set in Woodford County, according to Daily Herald. The charges are allegations, and Rafferty is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Local context
The case is drawing attention in Schaumburg, where Rafferty had worked for nearly a decade. At the same time, the Woodford County Sheriff’s Office says its Predator Apprehension Team has made multiple arrests across the region, according to 25NewsNow. For now, the matter is set to continue in Woodford County court next month, where prosecutors will decide whether to pursue any additional charges.
