Crime & Safety

'It's Uneasy': Neighbors React to Child-Sex Arrest

Residents in the North Avenue neighborhood had little contact with Brandon Bergthold, who was arrested Jan. 26 when he met with an undercover investigator posing as a dad willing to share his 6-year-old daughter for sex.

It's the familiar refrain about the neighbor accused of a crime: He was quiet and kept to himself. 

Among Brandon Bergthold's neighbors, that was the reaction Saturday afternoon upon learning the 25-year-old Frankfort Township man was accused of trying to buy sex with a child from a parent.

Will and Cook county sheriff's investigators arrested Bergthold when he tried to meet with an undercover officer who posed as a father willing to share his 6-year-old daughter for sex.

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READ: Cops Say Frankfort Twp. Man Tried to Buy Sex With Child 

Dave Faber, a father of four girls who lives a few houses down from Bergthold's house in the 7700 block of North Avenue, said he had never met Bergthold and didn't even know he lived there until news broke of the arrest. 

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"It's uneasy," said Faber, who's lived on North Avenue for 15 years. "I'm not happy. I don't know what else to say."

Jim and Lauri Schutzius weren't aware of Bergthold's arrest until they were interviewed Saturday. But the neighbors, who also have children, were disturbed to learn about the events that landed Bergthold in Will County Jail.

His bail is set at $750,000.

"You just don't know about people," Jim Schutzius said, adding that this was another reason why he makes sure to keep his kids close to the house when they play outside.  

Other residents interviewed, who didn't wish to be identified by name, said they hadn't had any contact with Bergthold.

Three sport utility vehicles were parked outside Bergthold's residence Saturday afternoon. Bergthold's father answered the door but said he wasn't releasing information about the incident. 

Bergthold graduated from Lincoln-Way East High School in 2004 and attended Joliet Junior College from 2004 to 2006, according to a MySpace page in his name that was last updated in 2008. On that page, he listed Walt's Food Center as a place of employment, and a Formspring account in Bergthold's name stated he worked at Lowe's in New Lenox. A manager at the location was unable to confirm Saturday if Bergthold had worked there. His Facebook profile, which was removed from the web Friday, listed his most recent employment at a Macy's logistics center in Minooka.

"I am one of those people who keep to themselves and sit back and study other people," the MySpace profile stated. "When I get comfortable with someone, I am able to talk to them with out [sic] stuttering or anything that might be embarrassing.

"I tend to be a fun loving, sensitive, and romantic person. ... I am a genuinely nice person and I can get along with almost anyone. I love to take chances. I keep telling myself and my friends to never miss an opportunity. If you miss that chance you might never be able to get that back. So, take that chance."

A web search also found a reality TV show casting profile for Bergthold on an online casting site called instantCast.


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