A former Dixmoor police officer is being held on $1 million bail after being found in possession of dozens of images of child pornography. The officer faces three felony charges related to the possession of child pornography. Police found 35 images on his phone. In some cases, the girls pictured on the phone were described as “prepubescent.”
In some states, you can be charged for each image found in your possession. In Illinois, they will charge you for each depiction of a minor. In this case, three victims were found on the defendant’s phone. Hence, he is facing three felony charges related to the possession of child pornography. The same girl was found in several of the pictures. Police will track down the victim to determine if more criminal charges are justified. If the defendant created the pornography, then that is another crime the state can add to the ledger.
Police were tipped off when child pornography was found in the account of the defendant’s email. The tip was sent to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which forwarded the tip to law enforcement, which confronted the officer and seized three phones from his possession, all of which contained the files in the tip.
The Defense
It remains unclear if the defendant will plead guilty or put up a defense. The police claim the defendant admitted that he used the phones for child pornography. Meanwhile, the defendant claims he tipped off law enforcement to the child pornography.
The officer was fired from the police force after an incident on duty in which he allegedly plied three youths with alcohol and edibles before driving them home. No criminal charges resulted from the incident, but the defendant was fired.
Is This Defense Within the Realm of Possibility?
Let’s imagine your poking around your phone while your significant other is using the bathroom at a restaurant, and you suddenly find child pornography. What do you do? You are supposed to report the matter to law enforcement right away, actually, and usually, you can establish that it was not you who downloaded the unlawful material. How do you do that?
Typically, when content is downloaded without the individual’s consent, it is not stored in an obvious location. Furthermore, it is dangerous to possess child pornography, so the only people who have it are those who cannot resist it. Folks do not carry around stashes of CP to frame people because the blowback would be phenomenal. That is one crime you never want on your record. So, while within the realm of possibility, the defense is not necessarily in the realm of plausibility.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney Today
Chicago criminal defense attorney, David Freidberg, represents the interests of those who are charged with sex crimes in Cook County. Call today at (312) 560-7100 to schedule an appointment, and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.