Crime & Safety

Vorberg Pleads 'Not Guilty' to Public Indecency Charge

A group of community members and elected officials showed up in court to take a stand.

An Oak Lawn man who is accused of exposing and fondling himself in a parked car near a school in Mt. Greenwood appeared in court today to be arraigned on public indecency charges. 

Daniel Vorberg, 30, of the of the 5000 block of 101st Street in Oak Lawn, was brought into the courtroom in his tan jail jumpsuit to stand before Cook County Circuit Judge William Kunkle and hear the charges leveled against him.

Vorberg entered a plea of not guilty. 

The courtroom was crowded with about 25 local residents and elected officials who attended the day's proceedings as a sign of support to the police officers who made the arrest and the assistant state's attorney who is prosecuting the case. They hope their presence was noted by the judge. 

Jessica Jenkinson, of Oak Lawn, lives behind the Vorberg residence and for years has been concerned about the crimes he was accused of perputrating. She hopes Vorberg is convicted and faces a long sentence, even more so now that she has a 10-month-old daughter. 

"I want her to be able to walk freely in our backyard," Jenkinson said. "He just keeps getting off on these offenses."

Vorberg has never been convicted of crimes against children, but he has faced charges in the past for distributing illicit materials to a minor in 2008 and trying to lure three 11-year-old girls into his car in 2009. The 2008 charge was dropped and he was found not guilty of the 2009 charge. He has been found guilty of a litany of other offenses. 

Read: Court Records: Accused Fondler Has Long Rap Sheet

That history is part of the reason so many community members are closely watching the outcome of this case. "Our community will stand up in support to make sure this predator is prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said Ald. Matt O'Shea who was present in court Friday morning. 

The 19th Ward Office received over 100 emails from residents concerned about the incident and expressing their regrets that they couldn't attend the hearing in person, O'Shea said. 

Also present were State Sen. Bill Cunningham, State Rep. Fran Hurley, State Rep. Kelly Burke, Cassell Elementary School principal Denise Esposito, local court adcovates and concrened residents of Oak Lawn and Mount Greenwood. 

Billy Ray Chapple, Jr. is president of the Civic Association of Beverly/Morgan Park and volunteers as a court advocate. He says the community's presence at court hearings is essential. 

"It says that we care, that we care about our children and that we will do what it takes to protect them," Chapple said. 

O'Shea says that his office plans to follow the court proceedings until their ultimate conclusion. That could be a long proccess. 

Vorberg's attorney Hal Garfinkel says his client will be found not guilty. 

"I am quite confident there will be an acquital, this case is going to trial," Garfinkel said.

He says he does not believe that the prosecution will be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime occurred. 

Vorberg is currently in custody after quickly violating home monitoring. His attorney says he is doing well in jail. 

"He is holding up remarkably well," Garfinkel said. "[He is] strong, optimistic, confident."

The large community contingent, which was noticeable by all inside the courtroom, was not surprising to Garfinkel.

"It's a case which the charges alone is going to evoke emotion within the community," Garfinkel said. "They're just an involved community."

Local residents like Chapple and Jenkinson plan to continue following this case and urge their neighbors to make their voices heard by showing up to court in numbers. 

"I will be very frustrated with the system if he gets out," Jenkinson said. "Oak Lawn will lose some very good residents."
The prosecution turned over one CD of police reports and other documents to the defense already, and the next hearing will be a states update on the discovery process. 

Vorberg's next court date is Aug. 2 at the Bridgeview courthouse.  


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