A 25-year-old Lombard man is being held without bond in DuPage County Jail, accused of sexually assaulting two young girls he met through social media and later lured to his apartment on the 2200 block of Highland Avenue. Adam Johnson faces ten felony counts, including criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to prosecutors.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin announced that the investigation continues into the allegations, which he described as “extremely disturbing.” Per the allegations detailed by Berlin's office, Johnson targeted multiple underage girls on social media and arranged to meet them in person. Prosecutors allege he sexually abused a girl born in 2008 on multiple occasions beginning January 12, 2023, and separately assaulted a second girl born in 2010 starting February 15, 2025, with both encounters occurring at his Lombard apartment.
The Charges Johnson Faces
According to the criminal complaint, Johnson is charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony that under Illinois law carries a mandatory prison sentence of 4 to 15 years, with offenders required to serve at least 85% of that sentence before becoming eligible for release, according to dkpc.law. He also faces six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony that carries 3 to 7 years in prison and requires mandatory lifetime sex offender registration upon release, per DRD Law. A single count of possession of child sexual abuse material, a Class 3 felony, is also part of the indictment.
The distinction between the charge categories is a matter of statute: criminal sexual assault requires proof of sexual penetration, while criminal sexual abuse requires proof of sexual contact or fondling without penetration, DRD Law notes. Aggravated criminal sexual abuse is Illinois's single most common registerable sex offense, accounting for 39% of all registered sex offenders statewide, according to Illinois State Police data cited by the same firm.
Arrest and Detention Without Bond
Judge Michael Burton issued an arrest warrant for Johnson on July 20, and Lombard Police Department officers took him into custody a week later, on July 27. He made his first court appearance in July, and Judge Joshua Dieden granted the state's motion to detain him pre-trial without bond on July 28.
That detention was possible because Illinois eliminated cash bail through the Pretrial Fairness Act, part of the SAFE-T Act, in September 2023 — making Illinois the first state in the nation to do so. Prosecutors may still petition to hold defendants without bond for non-probationable forcible felonies including criminal sexual assault, according to Illinois Legal Aid Online. In other words, Johnson's continued confinement in county jail rests on a judge's determination of community risk, not on his ability to pay.
A Multi-Agency Investigation
The case drew in law enforcement from across county lines. Lombard police cooperated with the Glen Ellyn Police Department, the DuPage County Sheriff's Office, and the Kane County Sheriff's Office as the investigation expanded. The DuPage County Children's Center also worked on the case, alongside Assistant State's Attorneys Jaclyn McAndrew and Heather Misura.
The DuPage County Children's Advocacy Center in Wheaton, which handles roughly 500 child physical and sexual abuse cases annually, conducts joint interviews with law enforcement and child welfare workers to reduce trauma for young victims, according to Naperville Magazine. The center was created within the State's Attorney's Office specifically to streamline multi-agency child protection responses, and Berlin's office says its ongoing efforts to combat child sex abuse continue as part of this case.
Prosecutor's Track Record on Similar Cases
Berlin, who has served as DuPage County State's Attorney since 2010, has overseen several other high-profile minor sexual assault prosecutions in recent memory, including a March 2025 indictment of a high school tutor in Downers Grove and a December 2025 case involving three teens accused of assaulting a female in Roselle, according to records from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. Berlin urged anyone with information regarding Johnson to contact their local police department.
The case, assigned to Judge Mia McPherson, remains in its early stages, and it is not yet known when formal trial proceedings will begin. Prosecutors have not said whether digital evidence or further outreach across the multi-jurisdictional investigation could surface additional victims. Berlin's office emphasized that the criminal complaint contains charges that are not proof of guilt, that the government bears the burden of proving Johnson's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and that Johnson is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial.
