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A Gillespie man has been charged with 18 felonies related to possessing and disseminating child pornography, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Getty ImagesGILLESPIE — A Macoupin County man has been charged with 18 felonies related to possessing and disseminating child pornography, as well as failing to register as a sex offender.
Robert L. Jones, 45, of Gillespie, has been charged in Macoupin County Circuit Court with five counts of dissemination of child pornography of a child under 13 years old, a Class X felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison; 10 counts of possession of child pornography of a child under 13 years old, a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and three counts of failure to register under the Sex Offender Act, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Jones was detained at the Macoupin County Jail; his next court date is scheduled for Oct. 30.
The charges were announced Thursday morning by Attorney General Kwame Raoul whose office is co-prosecuting this case with Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison. Assistant Attorney General Shantikumar Kulkarni is prosecuting the case.
On Tuesday, the Attorney General’s investigators aided by the Gillespie Police Department and the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department searched Jones’ home in the 700 block of South Street in Gillespie and arrested him. Jones allegedly had evidence of child pornography on his electronic device and social media accounts.
“Survivors of child exploitation are revictimized every single time an individual trades or downloads these horrific images or videos,” Raoul said. “I will continue to partner with the Macoupin County state’s attorney’s office and local law enforcement to investigate these heinous crimes and protect children and families in Central Illinois.”
With a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Raoul’s office runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force that investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. The task force receives CyberTips, or online reports of child pornography, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Since 2006, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 1,990 arrests of sexual predators. The task force also has provided internet safety training and education to tens of thousands of parents, teachers, students and law enforcement professionals.
This individual has only been charged and remains innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. All charges may not be reported.
