Grand Jury Indicts Urbana Man on Child Pornography Charges

Peoria, Ill. – Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, announced today that a federal grand jury in Peoria returned an indictment late yesterday that charges Terrence J. O’Connor, 52, of the 800 block of East Kerr Ave., Urbana, Ill., with receipt and possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that from April to August 2015, O’Connor received and possessed images and videos of minors who had not attained the age of 12 years engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of computers and related materials allegedly used to commit or promote the offenses.

If convicted, the statutory penalty for each count of receipt of child pornography (two counts) is a mandatory minimum of five years in prison to 20 years in prison and a term of supervised release of up to life following any term of imprisonment.  If a defendant has a prior child sex abuse or child pornography conviction, the statutory penalty is not less than 15 years and up to 40 years in prison.  For possession of child pornography, the penalty is up to 20 years in prison.

O’Connor was arrested on Aug. 31, 2015, and charged in a criminal complaint with distribution of child pornography. During a court appearance on Sept. 1, 2015, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long, in Urbana, O’Connor was ordered detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Arraignment has been scheduled on Sept. 28, 2015.

The charges are the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Urbana Police Department and the Illinois Secretary of State.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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.