Knox Police Seeking Public’s Help in Identifying Child Pornography Victims

Additional charges could be filed against a Knox man accused of molesting a young boy at his Heaton Street home. Robert M. Wisilinski, 67, is charged with child molesting as a level 1 felony, child solicitation as a level 5 felony and child pornography as a level 6 felony. Detective Dave Combs with the Knox Police Department says officers traced a young boy reported missing on over the weekend to Wisilinski’s home Sunday evening.

“Wisilinski was taken into custody, and as a result we’ve executed several search warrants on a couple different properties belonging to Wisilinski here in town. At current we’ve located a total of 4,495 images of child pornography,” Combs said.

He adds all of the digital images are of boys who appear to be between the ages of 9 and 15. The investigation is continuing. Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff is asking that any parents whose children might know Wisilinski, who is better known as “Moped Bob”, to please contact the Knox Police Department at 574-772-4122. The Starke County Prosecutor’s Office is also working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help identify the victims. It is unclear how many may be children from the area and how many may be images from the Internet.

Wisilinski’s two known Knox addresses are 603 S. Heaton St. and 254 W. Bender St. He also frequents the Parkview area. Combs says Wisilinski has lived in the area for some time. He’s jailed on a $150,000 surety bond and is due in Starke Circuit Court for an initial hearing Friday morning.

The probable cause affidavit indicates Wisilinski was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault and public indecency through Illinois in the late 1980s.