The FBI’s Chicago Bureau wants to identify young people who allegedly were secretly recorded as early as 2006 at three area YMCAs, including the now-closed YMCA in Niles.
According to Natalie Symonds, public affairs specialist, FBI experts believe Michael Porter, 55, of Chicago, secretly used a series of devices to record children at the Leaning Tower YMCA at 6300 W. Touhy Ave. in Niles, High Ridge YMCA at 2424 W. Touhy, Chicago, and South Side YMCA, 6330 S. Stony Island, Chicago.
The FBI charged Porter last summer with child pornography charges, it said, but the agency released this new information April 5.
The FBI believes there may have been over 100 victims in an age range between 5-17 from 2006 to 2020, Symonds said, and the agency is seeking to identify people who may have been recorded.
Porter would place a recording device in his gym bag and then leave it in an area where children could be seen showering or in a locker area, and he would also record children when he was in a bathroom stall or was in the shower, per Symonds.
Porter had a cell phone, four hard drives plus a laptop with pornographic images of a pre-pubescent minor and another minor under 12, the FBI said.
Porter was charged last July with seven counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of electronic devices containing child pornography.
He remains in custody, Symonds wrote.
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
It was unclear how many of the incidents occurred in Niles. Symonds said she could not comment further on the investigation.
Niles Police Department Sergeant Kelly Eckardt wrote in an e-mail the FBI was handling the case.
The Leaning Tower YMCA recreation center closed in June 2020, noted Village of Niles spokesman Mitchell Johnson. At the time, a YMCA administrator said the closure was due to financial strain brought about by the pandemic.
