JOLIET, IL — Farrell Theis, a 62-year-old Romeoville man who served 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy in 1989, has resolved his case at the Joliet Park District’s Inwood Athletic Club swimming pool by pleading guilty to a felony crime.
Theis pleaded guilty to the crime of child photography by a child sex offender. However, he did not have to serve a single day in the Will County Jail or go to the Illinois Department of Corrections as part of his sentence. Yet in spite of that fact, he and his Naperville lawyer, The Law Office of Philip Nathe, have filed a petition asking Will County Judge John Connor to modify his sentence.
According to their motion, Theis was sentenced to probation for four years with the following terms and conditions: undergo a sex offender evaluation and follow through with any recommended treatment; report to probation on a weekly basis; have no contact with the victim’s family or residence; and pay fines and court costs in the amount of $3,054.
“The defendant has to report to probation on a weekly basis,” his Naperville defense lawyer wrote. “As a result, the defendant cannot find gainful employment. The defendant would like to return to work and lead a productive lifestyle. In almost every situation where an individual is sentenced to probation, the probation officer determines the necessity and frequency of reporting. The defendant requests the court grant his probation officer said authority or in the alternative, reduce the frequency of meeting with his probation officer … Farrell J. Theis respectfully requests the court modify the conditions of his probation,” the motion ended.
The next court hearing on the matter has been set for May 7 before Judge Connor in Courtroom 403.
Will County prosecutors noted that on Jan. 30,2025, 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 Gombosi was assigned to the matter. He obtained surveillance video from the Athletic Center. This video is consistent with the reported events.”
Detective Gombosi discovered Theis was 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.
Theis resides in Romeoville in the 600 block of Belmont Drive. He turns 63 in July.
