The Illinois Attorney General’s Office announced today that a Brighton man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for distributing child pornography.
31-year old Christopher Sykes pleaded guilty today in Jersey County court to 3 counts of Class X felony dissemination of child pornography. Jersey County Circuit Court Judge Allison Lorton sentenced Sykes to 25 years in prison.
Sykes was arrested in March after Raoul’s investigators, along with officers from the Brighton Police Department and Jersey County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a search of his residence and found evidence of child sexual abuse material. According to a petition to deny his pretrial release, Sykes had “engaged in an ongoing pattern of criminal activity where he is collecting and disseminating files of child pornography to other users via electronic platforms/social media.” While he’s currently charged with dissemination via Twitter/X, the investigation revealed additional platforms he used to collect and distribute the material, including Telegram. The offenses were reportedly committed on Aug. 4 and 5, 2023, according to online court documents.
According to further information in the petition obtained by Riverbender: “The Defendant acknowledges in his statement to the Investigator that when an account would get shut down he would simply open a new account and keep doing the criminal behavior,” the petition states. “This activity was done within his home over a period of time. When the search warrant was executed on March 14, 2024, the defendant had a powered on phone with accessible child sexual abuse material (CSAM) saved on it in his room, which he acknowledges is his and provided the passcode for to unlock … the Investigator and digital forensic examiner have so far observed over 100 image/video files of CSAM on the first device, either in a photo gallery or exchanged in chat messages.”
Sykes reportedly resided in a home where an 8-year-old child also resided, and the obtained court documents said several young children – including both family members and neighborhood children – regularly visited the residence.
Raoul’s office prosecuted the case in conjunction with the Jersey County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Sykes was also ordered to pay over $5,800 in fines. He was given credit for 119 days served in the Jersey County Jail.