A judge ordered a Crystal Lake man accused of sex acts with a dog that his girlfriend video-recorded in Huntley to spend seven days in jail Tuesday after he admitted to violating his pre-trial release conditions.
Efin J. Nolte, 24, of Crystal Lake, is facing five counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, a Class 2 felony, and seven counts of sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal, a Class 4 felony. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis ordered Nolte on Tuesday to serve seven days in the McHenry County Jail as a sanction after he waived his right to a hearing and admitted to violating his pretrial release.
The sanction was entered by agreement of the parties and Davis warned Nolte of the consequences of escape if he failed to surrender, court records show.
Nolte turned himself in at the McHenry County Jail on Friday morning and is scheduled to be released on October 2.
Nolte allegedly performed sex acts on a dog named Oliver, also known as Ollie, on October 27, 2024, October 28, 2024, and November 29, 2024, according to the indictment.
He allegedly performed another sex act on Ollie on a date between June 1 and July 1, 2025, the indictment said.
Katelyn E. Heiden, 28, of Crystal Lake, who was Nolte’s girlfriend and lived with him in the 9900 block of Yardley Drive in Huntley at the time, allegedly video recorded that act for the purpose of sharing it through Snapchat, according to the indictment.
Nolte allegedly performed two sex acts on a female dog on June 15, 2025, the indictment said.
Heiden performed a sex act on Ollie on July 3, 2025, according to the indictment.
Nolte allegedly performed another sex act on Ollie on July 13, 2025, the indictment said.
The Huntley Police Department began an investigation in July 2025 after receiving a report that Nolte and Heiden engaged in sexual acts with animals, prosecutors said.
The investigation confirmed a video was created in Huntley and led to the identification of Nolte and Heiden as suspects, according to Huntley Deputy Police Chief Kevin Keane.
Police detectives served a search warrant on November 14 for electronic devices belonging to Nolte and Heiden.
Huntley Police Department detectives and Illinois Attorney General investigators examined several seized devices and uncovered videos documenting sexual acts involving animals, prosecutors said.
Nolte also allegedly possessed four videos and one photo depicting children on November 14, according to the indictment.
One of the videos allegedly depicted a child engaged in sexual conduct involving an animal and the photo allegedly depicted a child under the age of 13, the indictment said.
The files were allegedly stored in folders associated with the apps Kik, Telegram and Reddit, according to the indictment.
Nolte and Heiden were arrested on November 14 and transported to the McHenry County Jail.
Prosecutors said they were unable to file a petition to detain the couple after their arrests because sexual conduct with an animal is not a detainable offense under the Illinois SAFE-T Act.
McHenry County Judge Justin Hansen released Nolte and Heiden with pre-trial conditions following Initial Appearance Court hearings, ordering them to have no contact with any domesticated animals and to obtain a sex offender evaluation.
A McHenry County grand jury returned a 16-count indictment against Nolte and Heiden in January.
McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Shelby Page then filed a petition to detain Nolte pending trial, arguing the child sexual abuse material charges were detainable and that his release posed a real and present threat to the safety of the community.
Davis denied the petition and released Nolte with additional pretrial conditions.
Davis ordered Nolte to submit all of his internet-capable devices to pretrial services for the installation of monitoring software, not to possess or view pornography of any kind, to obtain a psychological evaluation and to have no contact with animals.
A motion to modify Nolte’s pre-trial release conditions was denied in April by McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt.
Nolte viewed and possessed pornography on or around September 10, according to court records.
Page filed a petition the next day asking the court to sanction Nolte.
Davis found by clear and convincing evidence on Tuesday that Nolte knew his actions would violate a court order and that the violation was willful.
It was not immediately known how authorities learned of the violation.
Heiden pleaded guilty on August 27 to one count of sexual conduct or sexual contact with an animal, a Class 4 felony, for the July 3, 2025, act.
Prosecutors dismissed the three remaining counts against Heiden, including those alleging she video recorded Nolte and permitted the acts at her home.
Her plea did not include a predetermined sentence and Gerhardt ordered a presentence investigation ahead of her sentencing hearing on November 20.
Nolte is scheduled to appear in court again on October 23 for a final status hearing on a trial date.