The Palatine Woman and the Cavalcade of Bad Choices

By Prescott Carlson in News on Nov 4, 2009 10:40PM

We read stuff all the time about people doing dumb things, but it's not often you come across a story so littered with wrong turns that you could turn it into a drinking game. Such is the case of Mary Cordes-Michehl, a 45-year-old Palatine woman who was arrested Tuesday on charges of manufacturing and distributing child pornography. Let's break down the alleged events that police say happened that led to her arrest:

1. Cordes-Michehl meets a 16-year-old boy on Craigslist in July, and proceeds to exchange "sexually explicit" messages with him.
2. Cordes-Michehl and the boy trade nude videos and images of themselves via email.
3. The boy asks Cordes-Michehl to take a video of a 14-year-old girl she knows. She agrees, and records the girl in the bathroom using a "spy pen" that contains a tiny camera.
4. Apparently not being able to edit the video at home, Cordes-Michehl put it on a flash drive and brought it with her to work.
5. Cordes-Michehl couldn't figure things out on her work computer, so she asked a co-worker to help her with the video.

And you thought your cubicle neighbor was creepy. The co-worker, not being a nut, reported the incident to their boss, who immediately called the cops. Cordes-Michehl confessed to police that she created the video and could face 4 to 15 years in prison if convicted.