Following a raid by local and state police, two men are in custody on charges of child pornography, according to local law enforcement. The Illinois men each face a felony charge for possession of child porn material which was allegedly found by officers in two separate Illinois counties. If convicted, they could face years in prison and hefty fines.
Police reports indicate one of the searches was conducted by virtue of a search warrant, while there is no word as to whether the other was conducted the same way. Several police groups worked together to conduct these searches, which apparently turned up an unknown quantity of illegal material. The searches were part of an ongoing statewide operation called Glass House, initiated to combat the spread of child porn throughout the state.
Each man faces multiple counts of possession of child pornography of varying severity. Should they be convicted on all counts, they could face up to 30 years in prison and fines over and above $100,000. Even if they are not found guilty, however, their reputations could be marred for years to come.
Illinois prosecutors have a tall order on their hands to prove these allegations in a court of law. Child pornography charges are very serious, and will have to be addressed one felony charge at a time. The defense may benefit from analyzing the existing search warrant to ensure the search was conducted to the letter of the law, and may also wish to carefully review the police procedures employed as compared to the actual charges filed and evidence prosecutors intend to use against the accused men.
Source: thesouthern.com, Two Southern Illinois men face child porn charges, No author, Nov. 17, 2013