Chicago —(ENEWSPF)–July 14, 2016. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that a Will 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.
Anthony Rutten, 26, of Joliet, was charged in Will County Circuit Court with two counts of possession of child pornography, a Class 2 felony punishable by up to three to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). A bond hearing was set for today.
“Each time these horrific images are viewed, children are revictimized,” Madigan said. “We will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of offenders who commit these appalling crimes.”
Madigan’s investigators, with the assistance of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Will County Sheriff’s Department and the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, conducted a search of a residence in the 2400 block of Pecan Street in Joliet Wednesday and arrested Rutten after evidence of alleged child pornography was discovered. Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s office will prosecute the case.
“We are thankful for our work with the Attorney General’s High Tech Crimes Bureau that is helping us remove these offenders from our community,” Glasgow said.
“Our department is committed to safeguarding our residents against these types of predators, and I am very pleased with the arrest of this individual,” said Sheriff Mike Kelley.
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This is the 82nd 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 more than 1,170 arrests of sexual predators. The task force has also provided Internet safety training and education to more than 539,000 parents, teachers and students and more than 22,000 law enforcement professionals.
Source: http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
