Illinois man charged with possessing, distributing child pornography
CHICAGO — An Illinois man was charged Friday with possessing and disseminating child pornography.
These charges were announced by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as part of her ongoing efforts to apprehend the most active offenders who download and trade child pornography online. These charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Illinois Attorney General’s office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Joseph Gould, 31, of McHenry, Illinois, was charged in McHenry County Circuit Court with three counts of disseminating child pornography (Class X felonies punishable by six to 30 years in prison), and seven counts of possessing child pornography (Class 2 felonies punishable by three to seven years in prison). Gould’s bond was set at $250,000 during a Saturday bond hearing.
Authorities conducted a search Feb. 3 of a residence in McHenry and arrested Gould after discovering evidence of alleged child pornography.
“Child pornography is a horrible crime that exploits innocent children,” Madigan said. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute offenders who commit these horrendous crimes.”
“HSI is committed to thwarting the distribution of child pornography by investigating and pursuing prosecution against anyone who preys upon vulnerable children,” said James M. Gibbons, special agent in charge of HSI Chicago. “HSI works closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and arrest child sexual predators who possess and trade child pornography. This is an important fight to protect our children.”
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This case will be prosecuted by the Illinois Attorney General’s office with McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally’s office.
This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
Updated: