Yorkville banquet hall owner charged with possessing child sexual abuse material
Yorkville police are asking for the public's help as they investigate a case where a banquet hall owner is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material.
According to police, Eleno Silva, 57, of Oswego and owner of Martini Banquet Hall in Yorkville, was charged with six counts of child pornography and three counts of child sexual abuse material after they said he copied surveillance video from designated changing areas at the business where underage girls were in various stages of undress and put those images on his cellphone.
The banquet hall is known to host events like weddings, bridal showers, quinceñeras or traditional celebrations in Hispanic culture to mark a girl's 15th birthday.
Police said they learned of the alleged images involving minors here after being contacted by Montgomery police who were investigating Silva in a separate case.
CBS News Chicago learned Silva was charged earlier this year with three counts of unauthorized video recording in a case police say happened at a restaurant he owns called Riverside Diner in Montgomery.
Court documents allege Silva video-recorded a female employee in a restroom multiple times between 2025 and 2026.
In the Yorkville case, police are asking for information from anyone who attended, worked or hosted an event at Martini Banquet Hall in 2023.
"It's not uncommon anymore for police to discover a crime on these video cameras and not know who the victim is," said retired Chicago police first deputy superintendent Anthony Riccio. "It's a far stronger case if they could identify who these victims are, have the victims provide a statement that they were not aware that there were video cameras capturing them undressing and it builds a stronger case and a better prosecutable case."
Silva turned himself in to Kendall County Jail on Monday after police got a warrant for his arrest and is out on bond.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 10. CBS News Chicago reached out to him but has not heard back.
