A Baylis man arrested last summer by members of the Illinois Attorney General’s Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office for multiple child pornography charges has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison time.
41-year old Christopher A. Coleman pleaded guilty to a single count of child pornography possession on Tuesday in Pike County Circuit Court in front of Judge J. Frank McCartney.
Law enforcement officials from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, Illinois State Police and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office executed a court-authorized search warrant at Coleman’s residence in the 200 block of South Main Street in Baylis on the morning of May 14, 2024.
Coleman was accused of possessing videos, via an electronic device, of children under the age of 13 engaged in various sexual acts.
A press release from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department said the criminal investigation began in April when information was received regarding the possession of child pornography. The investigation was forwarded to the Pike County Sheriff’s Department for further investigation. Chief Deputy Zack Orr, who led the criminal investigation, said numerous search warrants were obtained and executed, which helped law enforcement identify, locate and arrest Coleman.
Coleman was sentenced to 4 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, up to 1 year of mandatory supervised release, and ordered to pay an undisclosed county fine. He was given credit for 22 days served in the Pike County Jail.