Chicago–(ENEWSPF)–September 10, 2013. Attorney General Lisa Madigan yesterday said a Watseka man was charged with multiple counts of child pornography as part of “Operation Glass House,” a statewide initiative launched to apprehend the most active offenders who download and trade child pornography online.
Brandon C. Shaw, 41, is charged with four counts possession of child pornography and one count of dissemination of child pornography, each a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison.
“It is difficult to fully convey how serious a crime child pornography is. Every time an image of a child being sexually assaulted is viewed, it perpetuates the crime and further scars these young, innocent victims,” Madigan said. “My office has been—and will continue to be—relentless in tracking down and apprehending offenders who trade these horrific videos.”
Madigan’s investigators, with the assistance of the Watseka Police Department and the Iroquois County Sheriff’s Department, conducted a search of Shaw’s residence in the 300 block of Cherry Street and made the arrest on Thursday after evidence of alleged child pornography was discovered. Iroquois County State’s Attorney James Devine’s office will prosecute the case.
“The Watseka Police Department would like to thank the Attorney General’s enforcement team in the apprehension of Mr. Shaw for his illegal activities in Watseka,” said Watseka Police Chief Roger Lebeck. “We appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into such an investigation and apprehension of such people. It helps keep the streets of Watseka safe from persons who would perpetrate such acts.”
“I appreciate the investigation by the Attorney General’s office and law enforcement authorities that led to the arrest of this alleged child pornographer,” said State’s Attorney Devine. “It is critical that law enforcement target these offenders to help ensure the safety of our community.”
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This is the 47th 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 612 arrests of sexual predators. The task force has also provided Internet safety training and education to more than 299,400 parents, teachers and students and more than 16,400 law enforcement professionals.
Source: illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
