Chicago —(ENEWSPF)–June 3, 2016. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that a Kendall County man was charged with possessing child pornography as part of “Operation Glass House,” a statewide initiative to apprehend the most active offenders who download and trade child pornography online.
Marco Hernandez, 47, of Yorkville, was charged in Kendall County Circuit Court with five counts of possession of child pornography, Class 2 felonies punishable by up to three to seven years in Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC); and three Class 3 felony counts of possession of child pornography, which are punishable by up to two to five years in the IDOC. Bond for Hernandez was set at $50,000, and his next court date is scheduled for June 7.
“Each time these horrific images are downloaded or traded, children and their families are victimized all over again,” Madigan said. “We will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of the offenders who perpetuate these appalling crimes.”
Madigan’s investigators, with the assistance of the Yorkville Police Department, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Department and the Kendall County State’s Attorney’s Office conducted a search of a residence in the 1400 block of Ruby Drive in Yorkville Thursday and arrested Hernandez after evidence of alleged child pornography was discovered. Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis’ office will prosecute the case.
“My office’s work with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office’s High Tech Crimes Bureau is helping us fulfill our commitment to pursuing offenders who prey upon our children, and ensure that justice is served, ” said Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis.
“Our partnership with the Attorney General’s Office is helping us protect Yorkville families by removing these offenders from our community,” said Yorkville Deputy Chief of Police Terry Klingel.
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This is the 80th arrest since Madigan launched “Operation Glass House” in August 2010 to investigate the most active child pornography traders in Illinois. In 2010, the first year of the initiative, Madigan’s investigations revealed a disturbing trend of offenders trading extremely violent videos of young children being raped. As a result, Madigan’s office has focused on apprehending offenders who are seen trading and watching extremely violent videos involving children, including infants and toddlers.
Madigan’s office, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. Since 2006, Madigan’s ICAC task force has been involved in 1,127 arrests of sexual predators. The task force has also provided Internet safety training and education to more than 528,000 parents, teachers and students and more than 19,900 law enforcement professionals.
Source: http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
