Child Molester Accused Of Photographing Joliet Boys Swim Team Won't Be Jailed: Judge

JOLIET — Will County Judge Derek Ewanic has ruled against his former employer, the Will County State's Attorney's Office, after prosecutors argued that Farrell Theis, a convicted DuPage County child molester, should be kept in the Will County Jail while awaiting trial. The 61-year-old Theis was arrested by Joliet police in March on a criminal charge of photography by a sex offender, related to an incident at the Joliet Park District's Inwood swimming pool earlier this year.

Last week, Judge Ewanic ruled in favor of Theis and his Naperville private counsel, attorney Phil Nathe. Last week's petition to deny pretrial release, though unsuccessful, contained information related to the Joliet police investigation of Theis.

Will County prosecutors noted that on Jan. 30, a Tuesday morning, a part-time lifeguard at the Inwood Athletic Center called Joliet police on behalf of the Joliet Park District. She notified them that around 6:30 a.m., she saw the man who fills the vending machines next to the pool, and he appeared to be taking pictures of the Joliet West High School boys swim team, which includes freshmen through seniors, as they were practicing.

"The vending man was standing by the glass, with his phone near the glass and when she approached him, it looked like he put his phone down," prosecutors informed Judge Ewanic. "A swim coach was also sufficiently troubled that he approached the vending man. He asked what he was doing, and the vending man responded that he used to swim in a pool."

According to the prosecution, the Inwood staff provided Joliet police with pictures and "through the vending company, police also obtained the name of the vending man. Joliet Police Detective (Cris) Gombosi was assigned to the matter. He obtained surveillance video from the Athletic Center. This video is consistent with the reported events."

Prosecutors added that Detective Gombosi discovered Theis is a registered sex offender, and he was a child sex offender, convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault in 1989 in DuPage County.

"In that case, the defendant pled guilty to having sex with an 11-year-old boy while he was age 26," the petition to deny pretrial release showed.

Theis was sentenced out of DuPage County to 12 years of prison at the Illinois Department of Corrections "however, due to the law in effect at the time, (Theis) was paroled ... he was only required to register for 10 years," prosecutors outlined in court records.

Back in Joliet, Detective Gombosi obtained a search warrant for Theis' phone, and it was seized and searched and "that phone revealed a picture of a swim team member which appears to have been taken from a close zoom shot in the pool area at the Athletic Center," prosecutors stated.

Joliet police ultimately determined the identity of the Joliet West swimmer and "that swimmer agreed his parents had not given this defendant permission to take said photo," court documents reflect.

After hearing evidence from the prosecution, Judge Ewanic ruled in favor of Theis, rejecting the petition asking to put the vending machine worker in the Will County Jail under the SAFE-T-Act.

Instead, the judge ruled that although Theis was charged with a detention-eligible offense, Ewanic denied the petition for the following reasons, "defendant has no law enforcement contact since 1989 and no other contact since this incident in January 2025."

Additionally, Ewanic ordered the Romeoville man "not to possess any photography equipment when around minors" and to have no contact with "minor individuals."

Theis' next hearing is set for April 22 in Courtroom 405 of Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak.

Original Joliet Patch story:
Sex Offender At Inwood Rec Center Took Photos Of Boys In Pool: Police