Chicago-area man sentenced to 70 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography

CHICAGO — A man, who formerly lived in a Chicago-area suburb before his 2009 arrest, was sentenced to 70 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography that he created while sexually molesting two children under 5 years old.

The sentenced was announced by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Northern District of Illinois, and Gary J. Hartwig, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago.

Darrick C. Boroczk, 34, formerly of Wheeling, Ill., has been in federal custody since he was arrested on July 30, 2009.

"No civilized society can permit [conduct like this] no matter what the circumstances," U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman said in imposing the sentence on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.

Under federal law, Boroczk must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for release, and the judge ordered lifetime supervision in the event he is released from custody.

According to court documents, child pornography seized in April 2009 on a computer in New Castle, Pa., depicted a man sexually molesting a young girl. Further investigation resulted in law enforcement identifying Boroczk as the suspect, leading to his arrest and prosecution.

In March 2010, Boroczk pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Boroczk admitted to sexually abusing a girl between 3 and 5 years old between 2006 and 2009. The government also established that Boroczk sexually molested a 2-year-old boy in 2006.

Judge Guzman sentenced Boroczk to the mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years on each production count, and he imposed the maximum of 10 years on the possession count. He ordered each prison term to be served consecutively, totaling 70 years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Perconte from the Northern District of Illinois prosecuted the case.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.