A man who lives across the street from a middle school in Crystal Lake was arrested after he allegedly befriended a child, convinced her they were dating and solicited sexual material from her.
David Kurth, 32, of Crystal Lake, was charged with one count of soliciting child pornography, a Class 1 felony, and grooming, a Class 4 felony.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Kurth solicited child pornography from August 2023 to October 2024 from a female child.
Kurth knew the child was under 18 when he enticed her to send him the photographs depicting her sex organs, the complaint said.
The complaint said he also engaged in a romantic and sexually explicit relationship.
Court documents said Kurth befriended the 14-year-old girl and used several different phone numbers, emails and social media accounts to solicit the nude photographs.
Court documents said Kurth also sent nude photos of himself to the victim while grooming her and coercing her into sending the nude photos and videos to him.
Kurth reportedly convinced the child that they were in a dating relationship.
The man lives in the 500 block of Cress Creek Court in Crystal Lake, which is located on the corner of St. Andrews Lane and Creek Creek Lane, next to Lundahl Middle School.
Court documents said Kurth committed the offenses from his home. It is unclear where the victim lives or how he first came into contact with her.
At the time of the offense, Kurth was out on bond in two felony child pornography cases from 2021, court records show.
Kurth was charged on Monday and taken into custody on the same day. The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Kurth pending trial, arguing he poses a danger to the community.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted the petition following a detention hearing on Tuesday.
“There are no conditions or combination of conditions that can mitigate the threat of harm to the safety of any persons or persons in the community. This defendant out on bond in similar cases and committed this offense knowingly that he was violating the law,” Lamb said.
“The defendant has shown that he unable or unwilling to obey court orders and the laws of the State of Illinois. GPS will not protect the entire community of children,” she added.
Kurth remains held in the McHenry County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday for a status of preliminary hearing.