Suspected Child Predator Arrested

An alleged child predator who targeted the children of single mothers and was one of the most wanted fugitives in downstate Illinois was captured by Cook County Sheriff's police Thursday.

Kenji L. Haley, 31, a personal trainer, had been on the run since 2007 when he was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child under the age of 10. He is charged with 10 acts of molestation on one victim and is under investigation for a possible second victim, both in Urbana, according to a press release from Cook County Sheriff's police.

Investigators suspect Haley has been molesting children for years, targeting single mothers with young kids. He would stay in relationships with the mothers long enough to earn their trust and eventually be left alone with the children, sometimes staying overnight in the same house with them, according to the release.

He would then allegedly molest the children, threatening them that their mothers would never believe them or that she would think the child was simply trying to break the couple up. He would also present gifts to those molested as an additional way to earn their silence, the release said.

Three weeks before the Thursday arrest, officers learned that Haley was living in Cook County and seeing as many as 10 women with young children. Members of the sheriff's fugitive warrants division, in conjunction with the U.S. Marshal's fugitive task force began searching for Haley at addresses where he was known to be staying, according to the release.

Officers questioned a Hazel Crest single mother Thursday and learned Haley had just left the home, the release said. Officers later found him at a house in the 8700 block of South Kingston Avenue in Chicago, where he was staying with another single mother. He was taken into custody without incident.

Some parents who live near the addresses in Cook County where Haley would visit potential victims told officers he had made inappropriate comments to young females in the neighborhood, according to the release.

Sheriff's police have opened an investigation on Haley for potential victims in Cook County, while he has been taken into custody by Champaign County authorities, the release said.

Since the original warrant was issued in 2007, Haley has had additional warrant issued for his arrest. He is wanted in Vermillion County for unlawful use of a credit card and in Champaign County for failure to pay more than $25,000 in child support, according to the release.