Man charged in child porn case ordered to shut blinds

Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — A federal judge refused Wednesday to lock up a man charged with shipping child pornography, but in an unusual move, he ordered the man to close his window shades and surrender his cameras after neighbors complained he photographed children playing in a next-door swimming pool.

About 40 neighbors of Mario Meschino traveled to federal court in downtown Chicago seeking to have him taken into custody, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin Ashman refused to hear from them and kept Meschino confined to his home on electronic monitors and a $15,000 bond.

“You don’t revoke bond because of creepiness,” Ashman said. “You revoke bond because of a danger to the community.”

The government had agreed to home confinement for Meschino last month, but prosecutors asked to reopen the detention hearing after the neighbor with the swimming pool complained. The hearing was moved to the large ceremonial courtroom at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse to accommodate the crowd.

Neighbors contend Meschino, 41, is indeed a threat in their midst. They became alarmed after investigators asked them to identify children in images recovered from Meschino’s house.

The shots were clearly taken from inside his residence and pictured clothed children playing, prosecutors said.

When he was arrested last month, Meschino, a school bus driver, admitted to an FBI agent he had taken pictures of clothed children on his bus, according to court records.

“He’s taking pics of your kids at home. He’s stalking the children,” neighbor Michelle Burgess said after court. Parents have kept their children inside, and the children themselves have become fearful of using parks and neighborhood pools, Angel Krull said.