A McHenry man has been arrested after investigators say they found him possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material online following an investigation.
Nicolas K. Riener, 24, of McHenry, was charged with five counts of distributing child pornography and nine counts of possession of child pornography.
McHenry Police Department Public Affairs Officer Ashley O’Herron said Riener was arrested without incident by the McHenry Police Department on Wednesday.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC) initially received a cybertip that a resident in McHenry had been uploading and downloading child pornography, O’Herron said.
The McHenry Police Department’s Investigations Unit and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office conducted an investigation.
A search warrant was executed, interviews were conducted and evidence was collected, O’Herron said.
Court documents said Riener possessed and disseminated at least five files of child sexual abuse material depicting children under the age of 13.
Riener reportedly locked his devices and caused the attorney general’s investigators to be unable to gain access to them, court documents said.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and approved the 14 felony charges.
Riener was transported to the McHenry Police Department for processing and then taken to the McHenry County Jail.
The state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain him pending trial and McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted the petition on Thursday.
“By the defendant’s distribution and possession he creates an appetite for the continual production of the illegal content and as such, this distribution is a threat to the community,” the judge said.
Lamb said Riener poses a danger to the community and that no conditions of release could mitigate the threat.
“This court is not aware of any restriction that can mitigate the threat posed by the defendant, as tools such as GPS and remote monitoring would not be able to prevent the defendant from continuing this type of activity as this Defendant will continue to seek and possess child pornography if he is released and that he has the ability or means to undermine any condition that this court would put in place,” the judge said in her ruling.
Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to contact the Criminal Investigation Division of the McHenry Police Department at 815-363-2599.
Those wishing to pass along anonymous information are asked to call the McHenry Police Tip Line at 815-363-2124.
Riener is scheduled to appear in court again on August 29 for a status of preliminary hearing.