Jon Schillaci
Encyclopedia
Jon Savarino Schillaci is an American sex offender
and a former fugitive
who was added to the FBI
's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
list on September 7, 2007. Schillaci is the 488th fugitive to be placed
on the list. He was captured on June 5, 2008 in San José de Gracia
, Michoacán
, Mexico
after almost nine years on the run. On December 22, 2009 Schillaci was sentenced to 20 to 50 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated in Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility
and will be eligible for parole in December 2039.
in 1971 and had been given up for adoption
as an infant. Most of his childhood, which has been described as "turbulent", was spent in Texas
. During his first prison term, Schillaci told officials he had been abused
by a relative as a child. Prior his arrest in 1989 he frequented the Neartown
area of Houston. At the age of 17, Schillaci practiced transvestism
. Schillaci has educational background in behavioural sciences
, computer science
, drafting, philosophy, religion and politics. He has also been described as a computer savvy, an accomplished pianist, and an adequately good guitarist.
several times.
Later, they invited the boys to Schillaci's home, showed them a film of child pornography
, then videotaped the boys engaging in sexual acts with each other. After filming them, he engaged in sexual acts with both of the boys. He was arrested days later on January 29, 1989, when he tried to sell the video to an adult bookstore for $500.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of sex performed by a child and four counts of aggravated sexual assault and was convicted on April 26, 1990 and sentenced to ten years in prison.
, studied French
and German
in prison. He completed a bachelor's degree
and two master's degree
s in humanities and literature from the University of Houston
.
Schillaci also wrote poetry
and submitted his poems to a now-defunct New Hampshire
literary magazine called The Fishwrapper, a quasi-underground student-run publication in University of New Hampshire
. Schillaci won first prize for poetry with his poem Americans in PEN American Center
's prisoner writing contest in 1998. A Deerfield, New Hampshire
family had a connection with The Fishwrapper and they started correspondence with Schillaci by letters. They developed a pen pal
relationship, which lasted throughout his incarceration, over seven years.
He told family that he was rehabilitated and about his desire for a new beginning. He wrote eloquently about how he was studying in prison and referred to crimes he had committed as "mistakes of his youth". The family believed that Schillaci was sincere and wanted to gave him a place to stay after his release. Another reason for the family's trust was that Schillaci had gained acceptance to a Ph.D.
program in Tufts University.
Schillaci has friends and family in Houston and Dallas
, but did not receive any visitors in prison.
prison on July 30, 1999, he registered as a sex offender
and moved into the Deerfield family's home in early August to start a new life in New Hampshire.
Schillaci was employed at Ted Herbert's Music Mart and Art Center in Manchester
. He was a salesman at the store where hundreds of children took music lessons. He also worked as a computer operator. He was studying at nearby college and he later enrolled to Tufts University
in Medford, Massachusetts
, where he studied philosophy as a non-degree student in a graduate special student program for six weeks, until he fled sex crime charges.
him during piano lessons. The family alerted authorities and police served Schillaci with a restraining order
. Schillaci reported to work the next day and in the afternoon he fled and left his computer and car near a bus station. He gave his car keys to a coworker and told him to get rid of his truck and its contents.
After speaking with the boy, officials were able to determine that Schillaci had shown him child pornography and sexually abused him between three and seven times during his seven-week period in Deerfield. As a result, Schillaci was indicted
on sexual assault charges on November 4, 1999 and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest a month later for failing to appear in court. The Boston field office of the FBI also issued a warrant for his arrest. In September 2000, Schillaci was also charged with 23 counts of possession of child pornography, when approximately 300 images of child pornography were found on the family's computer he used. According to authorities, those images contained "every type of sexual act imaginable".
bus and heading for California. Schillaci crossed the Mexico – United States border illegally and remained in Mexico until he was captured and deported, although he traveled within the country.
Schillaci was seen in Rosarito, Baja California
, Mexico
in March 2000. Before U.S. Marshals could arrive, Schillaci had fled, leaving behind allegations of improper sexual relationships with children in the town. It was believed he was working in a pediatrician's
office in 2000. At the time, Schillaci had used several aliases including Jon Willis, Christopher Keegan and Cody Keegan.
Schillaci gained an online following in underground pedophile community and was described as a kingpin in the world of child pornography. His networks helped him to avoid capture twice and gave financial support by donating money to his PayPal
account. Using an alias Dylan Thomas (after the Welsh poet
), he operated as a DJ for a internet radio show, The Dylan Thomas Show and became a webmaster
of BoyChat in 2003. BoyChat is an internet forum
for "boylovers", people who discuss their sexual attraction to young boys.
Schillaci was living in Guadalajara, Jalisco
from approximately February 2003 until September 2006 under the alias Dylan Natchitoches Pierce. Erick Anderson Lowell was one of his aliases as well.
In 2004, Gregory Alec Phillips, a convicted sex offender from Tennessee, flew from Thailand to Mexico to meet a man he knew as Dylan Thomas. Phillips lived with him for approximately 30 days. Although Phillips later claimed he never witnessed any sexual interactions, he stated that "Thomas" engaged in sex with young boys because "there were little boys in and out of there all the time". After his return to the United States, "Thomas" had asked Phillips to check on the status of "Thomas'" own outstanding warrants.
In 2005, as a part of a story filmed during People v. Jackson
trial, Dylan Thomas, a spokesman for the pedophile
community, was interviewed by NBC News
correspondent Josh Mankiewicz
in a Mexican beach. Producers had agreed not to reveal his face or name. The interview never aired.
Schillaci was profiled
on the television program America's Most Wanted
and he was added to the list of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives on September 7, 2007. He replaced another sexual predator
, Richard Goldberg, who was captured on May 12, 2007. Schillaci is the first fugitive from New Hampshire to have been added to the list. The FBI offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Schillaci's capture and considered Schillaci extremely dangerous.
After being a fugitive for eight years, Schillaci was arrested in the town of San José de Gracia
, Michoacán
on June 5, 2008 without incident. When approached by the FBI and Mexican
authorities, he confirmed his identity. He was living in what was described as an unkempt shack
. Schillaci did not face any child pornography charges in Mexico, although Mexican authorities could still charge him.
Schillaci was briefly detained
by Mexico and deported back to United States
the next day. Schillaci was transported to Morelia
, Mexico where he boarded Mexicana Airlines
to the United States. Schillaci and his FBI escort Laura Hanlon landed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport
. He was then transferred to an FBI aircraft and flown to Pease International Airport
in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
. He was then brought to the Rockingham County
Courthouse for arraignment
on his charges.
because of his prior convictions. His trial was scheduled for early 2010.
Schillaci decided to plead guilty after prosecutors had notified a judge they would seek an enhanced sentence against Schillaci that could keep him in prison for the rest of his life.
On December 22, 2009, Jon Schillaci pleaded guilty to and was sentenced to 20 to 50 years in state prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault and 23 counts of possession of child pornography. According to prosecutors, they agreed to make a plea agreement because Schillaci's victim (now aged 15) was unwilling to testify and wanted to maintain his anonymity
. After Schillaci was apprehended, his computer, which had reams of child pornography on its hard drive, led the FBI into an expansive probe of seeking child victims in the United States. As a part of his plea bargain
, Schillaci cooperated with federal authorities by offering to give a name of one person. The information has led to federal indictment of the person in question and rescue of one sexually abused child.
Schillaci was incarcerated in New Hampshire State Prison for Men
, but he was transferred to Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility. He will be eligible for parole in December 2039. In order to be considered for parole, he would have to undergo a battery of sex offender treatment and other required programs. If Schillaci is ever released, he will also be on parole for life, and has to register as a sex offender for life.
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
and a former fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
who was added to the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list on September 7, 2007. Schillaci is the 488th fugitive to be placed
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 2000s
-FBI Headlines in the 2000s:The 2000s started out badly for the FBI's much needed attempts to upgrade technology. First, the Trilogy project went far over the $380 million budget, and behind its three-year schedule. Then, Virtual Case File, or VCF, planned for completion in 2003, was officially...
on the list. He was captured on June 5, 2008 in San José de Gracia
San José de Gracia, Michoacán
San José de Gracia is a parish in Michoacán, Mexico. It is not mentioned in any history of Mexico, neither is it referred to in any of the annals of the state of Michoacán. The area of San José de Gracia is approximately 231 square kilometers...
, Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
after almost nine years on the run. On December 22, 2009 Schillaci was sentenced to 20 to 50 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated in Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility
Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility
The Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility is a state prison in Berlin, New Hampshire, USA, a part of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections....
and will be eligible for parole in December 2039.
Early life
Schillaci was born in OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
in 1971 and had been given up for adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
as an infant. Most of his childhood, which has been described as "turbulent", was spent in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. During his first prison term, Schillaci told officials he had been abused
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
by a relative as a child. Prior his arrest in 1989 he frequented the Neartown
Neartown Houston
Neartown is an area located in west-central Houston, Texas, United States and is one of the city's major cultural areas. Neartown is roughly bounded by U.S. Highway 59 to the south, Allen Parkway to the north, Bagby Street on the east, and Shepherd Drive to the west...
area of Houston. At the age of 17, Schillaci practiced transvestism
Transvestism
Transvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing clothing traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations. -History:Although the word transvestism was coined as late as the 1910s,...
. Schillaci has educational background in behavioural sciences
Behavioural sciences
The term behavioural sciences encompasses all the disciplines that explore the activities of and interactions among organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behaviour through controlled and naturalistic observation, and disciplined...
, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, drafting, philosophy, religion and politics. He has also been described as a computer savvy, an accomplished pianist, and an adequately good guitarist.
Crimes in 1989
In 1989, then 17-year-old Schillaci and a 20-year-old man were accused of having sex with two 11-year-old twin brothers. Schillaci and his friend befriended the brothers, who lived in an apartment with their single mother. They took the boys out for dinner and to screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
several times.
Later, they invited the boys to Schillaci's home, showed them a film of child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
, then videotaped the boys engaging in sexual acts with each other. After filming them, he engaged in sexual acts with both of the boys. He was arrested days later on January 29, 1989, when he tried to sell the video to an adult bookstore for $500.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of sex performed by a child and four counts of aggravated sexual assault and was convicted on April 26, 1990 and sentenced to ten years in prison.
Incarceration in Texas
Schillaci, who was already fluent in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, studied French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in prison. He completed a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and two master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s in humanities and literature from the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
.
Schillaci also wrote poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and submitted his poems to a now-defunct New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
literary magazine called The Fishwrapper, a quasi-underground student-run publication in University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
. Schillaci won first prize for poetry with his poem Americans in PEN American Center
PEN American Center
PEN American Center , founded in 1922 and based in New York City, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 writers, editors, and translators...
's prisoner writing contest in 1998. A Deerfield, New Hampshire
Deerfield, New Hampshire
Deerfield is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,280 at the 2010 census. Deerfield is home to the annual Deerfield Fair.- History :...
family had a connection with The Fishwrapper and they started correspondence with Schillaci by letters. They developed a pen pal
Pen pal
Pen pals are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail.-Purposes:A penpal relationship is often used to practice reading and writing in a foreign language, to improve literacy, to learn more about other countries and life-styles, and to make friendships...
relationship, which lasted throughout his incarceration, over seven years.
He told family that he was rehabilitated and about his desire for a new beginning. He wrote eloquently about how he was studying in prison and referred to crimes he had committed as "mistakes of his youth". The family believed that Schillaci was sincere and wanted to gave him a place to stay after his release. Another reason for the family's trust was that Schillaci had gained acceptance to a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
program in Tufts University.
Schillaci has friends and family in Houston and Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, but did not receive any visitors in prison.
Release and move to New Hampshire
After Schillaci was released from RosharonRosharon, Texas
Rosharon, also known as "Buttermilk Station," is an unincorporated area in Brazoria County, Texas at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 521 and Farm to Market Road 1462.- History :...
prison on July 30, 1999, he registered as a sex offender
Sex offender registration
Sex offender registration is a system in various states designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions , information in the registry is made available to the...
and moved into the Deerfield family's home in early August to start a new life in New Hampshire.
Schillaci was employed at Ted Herbert's Music Mart and Art Center in Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
. He was a salesman at the store where hundreds of children took music lessons. He also worked as a computer operator. He was studying at nearby college and he later enrolled to Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
in Medford, Massachusetts
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
, where he studied philosophy as a non-degree student in a graduate special student program for six weeks, until he fled sex crime charges.
Sex crime charges
In late October 1999, when Schillaci was returning from Tufts University, the couple's five-year-old son informed his parents that they had "a secret", Schillaci had sexually abusedChild sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
him during piano lessons. The family alerted authorities and police served Schillaci with a restraining order
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
. Schillaci reported to work the next day and in the afternoon he fled and left his computer and car near a bus station. He gave his car keys to a coworker and told him to get rid of his truck and its contents.
After speaking with the boy, officials were able to determine that Schillaci had shown him child pornography and sexually abused him between three and seven times during his seven-week period in Deerfield. As a result, Schillaci was indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
on sexual assault charges on November 4, 1999 and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest a month later for failing to appear in court. The Boston field office of the FBI also issued a warrant for his arrest. In September 2000, Schillaci was also charged with 23 counts of possession of child pornography, when approximately 300 images of child pornography were found on the family's computer he used. According to authorities, those images contained "every type of sexual act imaginable".
Fugitive
Schillaci was seen boarding a Greyhound LinesGreyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
bus and heading for California. Schillaci crossed the Mexico – United States border illegally and remained in Mexico until he was captured and deported, although he traveled within the country.
Schillaci was seen in Rosarito, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in March 2000. Before U.S. Marshals could arrive, Schillaci had fled, leaving behind allegations of improper sexual relationships with children in the town. It was believed he was working in a pediatrician's
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
office in 2000. At the time, Schillaci had used several aliases including Jon Willis, Christopher Keegan and Cody Keegan.
Schillaci gained an online following in underground pedophile community and was described as a kingpin in the world of child pornography. His networks helped him to avoid capture twice and gave financial support by donating money to his PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
account. Using an alias Dylan Thomas (after the Welsh poet
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
), he operated as a DJ for a internet radio show, The Dylan Thomas Show and became a webmaster
Webmaster
A webmaster , also called a web architect, web developer, site author, or website administrator is a person responsible for maintaining one or many websites...
of BoyChat in 2003. BoyChat is an internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
for "boylovers", people who discuss their sexual attraction to young boys.
Schillaci was living in Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
from approximately February 2003 until September 2006 under the alias Dylan Natchitoches Pierce. Erick Anderson Lowell was one of his aliases as well.
In 2004, Gregory Alec Phillips, a convicted sex offender from Tennessee, flew from Thailand to Mexico to meet a man he knew as Dylan Thomas. Phillips lived with him for approximately 30 days. Although Phillips later claimed he never witnessed any sexual interactions, he stated that "Thomas" engaged in sex with young boys because "there were little boys in and out of there all the time". After his return to the United States, "Thomas" had asked Phillips to check on the status of "Thomas'" own outstanding warrants.
In 2005, as a part of a story filmed during People v. Jackson
People v. Jackson
People vs. Jackson was a 2005 trial involving recording artist Michael Jackson. The accuser was a boy, Gavin Arvizo, who was 13 years old at the time of the alleged crimes...
trial, Dylan Thomas, a spokesman for the pedophile
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
community, was interviewed by NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
correspondent Josh Mankiewicz
Josh Mankiewicz
Josh Mankiewicz is an American journalist who has been reporting for Dateline NBC since 1995. He has also reported for The Today Show and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams...
in a Mexican beach. Producers had agreed not to reveal his face or name. The interview never aired.
Schillaci was profiled
Offender profiling
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is a behavioral and investigative tool that is intended to help investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders. Offender profiling is also known as criminal profiling, criminal personality profiling, criminological profiling,...
on the television program America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
and he was added to the list of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives on September 7, 2007. He replaced another sexual predator
Sexual predator
The term sexual predator is used pejoratively to describe a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically "predatory" manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to "hunt" for his or her sex partners...
, Richard Goldberg, who was captured on May 12, 2007. Schillaci is the first fugitive from New Hampshire to have been added to the list. The FBI offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Schillaci's capture and considered Schillaci extremely dangerous.
Investigation and capture
In 2007, Schillaci's activities under alias Dylan Thomas caught the attention of volunteers on Wikisposure, project of Perverted-Justice, which builds databases on pedophilia activists. who began to investigate and monitor "Thomas'" activities on the Internet. Members of the Perverted-Justice found a profile Thomas had posted on his website in 2003. In it, he discussed playing the piano to attract children's interest. A path of similar profiles was discovered across the Internet. Each profile had a different username or alias but listed something in common. Profile of Christopher D. Ahrens was discovered on an engineering website had a small photograph attached to it. A person in the photograph looked exactly like Jon Schillaci. Evidence indicated that online profiles of Dylan Thomas, Christopher Ahrens, among others, were all created by Schillaci. After Perverted-Justice gave information to FBI, authorities were able to track down the location of the computer being used by Schillaci. FBI wouldn't comment on Wikisposure's role, citing its policy of not commenting on who provides information.After being a fugitive for eight years, Schillaci was arrested in the town of San José de Gracia
San José de Gracia, Michoacán
San José de Gracia is a parish in Michoacán, Mexico. It is not mentioned in any history of Mexico, neither is it referred to in any of the annals of the state of Michoacán. The area of San José de Gracia is approximately 231 square kilometers...
, Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
on June 5, 2008 without incident. When approached by the FBI and Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
authorities, he confirmed his identity. He was living in what was described as an unkempt shack
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
. Schillaci did not face any child pornography charges in Mexico, although Mexican authorities could still charge him.
Schillaci was briefly detained
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...
by Mexico and deported back to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
the next day. Schillaci was transported to Morelia
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
, Mexico where he boarded Mexicana Airlines
Mexicana de Aviación
Founded in 1921, Compañía Mexicana de Aviación, S.A. de C.V. was Mexico's oldest airline, before ceasing operations on August 28, 2010. The group's closure was announced by the company's recently installed management team a short time after the group filed for Concurso Mercantil and US Chapter 15...
to the United States. Schillaci and his FBI escort Laura Hanlon landed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
. He was then transferred to an FBI aircraft and flown to Pease International Airport
Pease International Airport
Portsmouth International Airport at Pease is a public-use joint civil-military airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Portsmouth, a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States...
in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
. He was then brought to the Rockingham County
Rockingham County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 277,359 people, 104,529 households, and 74,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 399 people per square mile . There were 113,023 housing units at an average density of 163 per square mile...
Courthouse for arraignment
Arraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
on his charges.
Trial and incarceration
In county court, Judge Tina Nadeau ordered Schillaci held without bail and entered not-guilty pleas for him until he got a lawyer. He requested a public defender. Schillaci awaited his trial in Rockingham County Jail and faced a life sentenceLife imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
because of his prior convictions. His trial was scheduled for early 2010.
Schillaci decided to plead guilty after prosecutors had notified a judge they would seek an enhanced sentence against Schillaci that could keep him in prison for the rest of his life.
On December 22, 2009, Jon Schillaci pleaded guilty to and was sentenced to 20 to 50 years in state prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault and 23 counts of possession of child pornography. According to prosecutors, they agreed to make a plea agreement because Schillaci's victim (now aged 15) was unwilling to testify and wanted to maintain his anonymity
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
. After Schillaci was apprehended, his computer, which had reams of child pornography on its hard drive, led the FBI into an expansive probe of seeking child victims in the United States. As a part of his plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
, Schillaci cooperated with federal authorities by offering to give a name of one person. The information has led to federal indictment of the person in question and rescue of one sexually abused child.
Schillaci was incarcerated in New Hampshire State Prison for Men
New Hampshire State Prison for Men
New Hampshire State Prison for Men is a New Hampshire Department of Corrections prison in New Hampshire, United States. Located in Concord, New Hampshire, it is equipped to accept maximum, medium, and minimum security prisoners....
, but he was transferred to Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility. He will be eligible for parole in December 2039. In order to be considered for parole, he would have to undergo a battery of sex offender treatment and other required programs. If Schillaci is ever released, he will also be on parole for life, and has to register as a sex offender for life.