A former Dixmoor police officer is facing several felony child pornography charges after an investigation led to police finding several pornographic videos and images of children under the age of 13 on his cell phone, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
Tory Bridgeforth, 37, of Chicago Heights, faces three Class 2 felony charges relating to the images and videos that were discovered.
Police said the Cook County Sheriff's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit received a cyber tip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children regarding child pornography that was found on an email account.
Officials said investigators with the ICAC obtained a search warrant and determined that the email account belonged to Bridgeforth.
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Bridgeforth was taken into custody on Wednesday for further investigation, and admitted to officers that he had used his cell phone to view child pornography.
In a forensic examination of Bridgeforth's phone, investigators found more than 35 sexually explicit images and videos of children, some as young as eight years old.
Bridgeforth worked as a Dixmoor police officer from 2021 to 2022, and was previously employed by the Robbins Police Department in 2019.
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Bridgeforth is scheduled to appear in court on Saturday.
A statement from Dixmoor Village President Fitzgerald Roberts acknowledged the arrest.
“I am shocked and very disappointed to learn of the allegations against Mr. Bridgeforth, who was employed for a brief period of time as a probationary police officer in our community. There is nothing more important to me and the Dixmoor Trustees than the safety of our children. Mr. Bridgeforth was terminated in May of last year for reasons unrelated to the current charges against him. The Village Board and I are committed to maintaining a high standard of conduct for our employees. Mr. Bridgeforth did not meet those standards and we let him go," Roberts said.
