Danville Sex Offender to Serve 17 1/2 Years in Federal Prison for Receiving, Possessing Child Pornography

URBANA, Ill. – A Danville, Ill., man, who was registered as a sexual predator in Vermilion County, was sentenced on July 7, 2017. U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce ordered John F. Gherna, 52, of the 2400 block of Cedar St., to serve 17 ½ years (210 months) in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. Upon completion of his prison sentence, Gherna was ordered to remain on supervised release for 15 years.

On Mar. 6, 2017, Gherna entered pleas of guilty to receiving child pornography from 2014 to 2016, and to possession of child pornography on June 13, 2016. Gherna has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since he was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on June 15, 2016.

According to court documents, when Gherna was arrested on federal charges, he was registered as a sex offender as a result of a prior conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson prosecuted the case. The Champaign Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division=s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.