 Brandon C. Shaw, 41, is charged with four counts of 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, Watseka, and made the arrest Sept. 5 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."
Devine, the Iroquois County state's attorney, said: "I appreciate
the investigation by the attorney general's office and law
enforcement authorities that led to the arrest of this alleged child
pornographer. It is critical that law enforcement target these
offenders to help ensure the safety of our community."
The public is reminded that any defendant is presumed innocent
until proven guilty in a court of law.
[to top of second column] |
 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, investigations revealed a disturbing trend of offenders
trading extremely violent videos of young children being raped. As a
result, the attorney general's office has focused on apprehending
offenders who are seen trading and watching extremely violent videos
involving children, including infants and toddlers.
The attorney general's office, with a grant from the U.S.
Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against
Children Task Force, which investigates child exploitation crimes
and trains law enforcement agencies. Since 2006, the 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.
[Text from file received from the office
of
Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan]
 |
