Pleasant Hill man wanted on child exploitation charge in Louisiana arrested on three other felony charges

PLEASANT HILL, Ill. — A Pleasant Hill man may be extradited to Louisiana after his arrest on felony charges involving allegations of indecent behavior with a juvenile.

An investigation conducted by the Calcasieu Parish (La.) Sheriff’s Department and the Pike County Sheriff’s Department led to the arrest of Patrick T.D. Cantwell, 29, of Pleasant Hill on several felony charges after it was discovered he allegedly sexually exploited a child under the age of 13 years old on an online platform.

Chief Deputy Zack Orr said Cantwell was arrested on Saturday, Feb. 22, at his residence in the 35000 block of 150th Avenue in Pleasant Hill.  

Cantwell, who is on pretrial release for a charge of failure to register as a sex offender, was arrested and charged with the following:

• Failure to register as a sex offender, a Class 2 felony;
• False information provided by a sex offender, a Class 2 felony;
• Two counts of obstructing justice, a Class 4 felony;
• Arrest warrant for indecent behavior with a juvenile in the parish of Calcasieu, La.

Cantwell is lodged in the Pike County Jail and has a $500,000.00 bond in Louisiana. He made his first appearance in Pike County Circuit Court on Tuesday before Judge Frank McCartney.

Orr is assigned to the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. The task force receives CyberTips, or online reports of child sexual abuse material, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Reports to the ICAC increased by 11 percent from 2023 to 2024.

Illinois’ ICAC Task Force is one of 61 ICAC task forces nationwide and comprises a network of more than 200 local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. 

Child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com and child abuse at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov. Local child advocacy centers can be found at childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org.