Braidwood man accused in attempted child abduction

A Braidwood man is being held in the Will County Adult Detention Center on $1.2 million bond, after allegedly trying to lure a teenager into his car.

The Braidwood Police Department reported that on Thursday, Sept. 30, a 15-year-old female reported to police that she had been approached by a male in a gray vehicle while walking in the 300 block of East Main Street, shortly before 8 a.m.

The teen told the police that the man verbally tried to coax her into his vehicle.

According to the Braidwood Police Department, Anthony Schargorodsky, 42, of the 900 block of Jordan Avenue in Braidwood was quickly identified as the suspect.

“We immediately identified the subject as Anthony Schargorodsky, who is a registered sex offender,” the BPD noted in a press release.

The press release noted that the report was not made until more than seven hours after the incident happened.

After the report was made, Schargorodsky was apprehended in Joliet by the Joliet Police Department.

Schargorodsky was charged on eight separate counts after the arrest, including two felony counts of child abduction/luring a victim under the age of 17, criminal trespassing, fleeing the police, and residential burglary, as well as misdemeanor counts of theft, criminal damage to property, and violating an order of protection.

Per the state’s criminal code, a person commits the offense of child abduction if they intentionally lure or attempt to lure a child under age 17.

Schargorodsky was arrested in December of 2020 by the Braidwood Police Department and indicted for violating the sex offender registry and failure to report annually as a sex offender. His last court appearance on those charges was Aug. 23, with pretrial scheduled this week.

Schargorodsky’s next court date on the child abduction related charges is scheduled for Oct. 22.

The Braidwood Police Department also urged parents to talk to their children about this type of dangerous situation, and to encourage them to tell an adult and/or report the incident to the police immediately.