Naperville Man Accused Of Inappropriately Touching Children In Joliet

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Naperville man accused of inappropriately touching children in Joliet and Texas faces charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. Vidal Alexander Martinez-Katopodis, 28, is being held in Will County Jail in the wake of the charges.

Joliet police spokesman Tizoc Landeros said that around 8 p.m. April 18, officers were dispatched to a home following a report that a man had inappropriately touched two children.

Police say the victims’ mother told officers Martinez-Katopodis had been babysitting the children alone for the first time while she ran errands.

When she returned, one of the victims told her mother that Martinez-Katopodis had touched them inappropriately. The mother then informed asked Martinez-Katopodis to leave the residence. Both victims reported that Martinez-Katopodis had touched them in a sexual manner, according to Landeros.

A third child in the home did not make any allegations, Landeros said.

All three juveniles underwent forensic interviews. Allegations of sexual misconduct were made by both victims, while the other child did not make any disclosures, police said.

Detective Petro, a Juvenile Sex Crimes Investigator with the Joliet Police Department, later received information from a 19-year-old woman in Grande Prairie, Texas. She reported on behalf of an underage teen that Martinez-Katopodis had sexually molested her when she was a child.

This information was documented and referred to the Grande Prairie Police Department, according to Landeros.

Detective Petro was later informed by a Grand Prairie detective that an arrest warrant had been obtained for Martinez-Katopodis based on the Texas allegations. The U.S. Marshals Service subsequently took Martinez-Katopodis into custody on that warrant. Detective Petro then arranged for an interview with Martinez-Katopodis at the Joliet Police Department regarding the Joliet case.

During the interview, Martinez-Katopodis made incriminating statements concerning the allegations made by the two Joliet victims. He was booked, processed, and transported to the Will County jail without incident, Landeros revealed.

Jail records show an address in the 1200 block of Duke Court in Naperville for Martinez-Katopodis.

Patch Editor John Ferak contributed reporting.