Illinois task force charges O’Fallon man with 11 felony counts of child porn
An O’Fallon man has been charged by the Illinois Attorney General’s office with 11 counts of possessing child pornography.
A St. Clair County judge on Thursday ordered that Seth MacDonald, 45, be held at the county jail until his trial.
According to a release from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, MacDonald was investigated and charged as part of an ongoing collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies and local police, to stop the download and trade of child pornography online.
The Class 2 felonies are punishable by three to seven years in prison per count and the sentences must be served consecutively.
“These charges highlight the importance of my office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in holding alleged perpetrators accountable for exploiting children,” Raoul said in a statement. “I will continue to partner with law enforcement to investigate these heinous crimes.”
According to the release, investigators from the O’Fallon and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville police departments, and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department searched MacDonald’s residence in the 900 block of Buran Drive in O’Fallon on April 9.
MacDonald was arrested when evidence of child pornography was discovered, the release said. Child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com and child abuse at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov. In addition, local child advocacy centers can be found at childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org.
