Convicted cyberstalker pleads not guilty to solicitation and possession of child pornography

By Benjamin Cox on April 3, 2019 at 6:13pm

A convicted cyberstalker from Bluffs pleaded not guilty to child porn charges this week.

39 year old Dicky Holsman appeared in Morgan County court Tuesday.

Holsman faces three counts of illegal solicitation and possession of child pornography.

Solicitation of child pornography is a class 1 felony. Possession is a class 3 felony.

Holsman also has three Class 4 felony charges stemming from an August 2018 arrest for cyberstalking and resisting a peace officer.

Holsman has entered two previous Class 2 felony guilty pleas: in 2014 for cyberstalking with the intent to cause a person fear, for which he received two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections; and in 2015, when he received another four years in the IDOC for burglary.

Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll details Tuesday’s preliminary hearing.

“Dicky Holsman was set for a preliminary hearing, and probable cause was found that allowed the state to formally file three counts of child pornography. Count one outlines the offense of solicitation of child pornography, while the second and third counts are for possession. Evidence was presented through a detective with the Jacksonville Police Department. That evidence was heard by Judge Chris Reif, and he established the presence of probable cause to move forward.”

Noll has previously told WLDS/WEAI News that Holsman has been in custody at the Morgan County Detention Facility since August, and that physical evidence collected by the Jacksonville Police Department shortly after Holsman’s arrest brought about the child pornography charges.

Dicky Holsman is set for a pre-trial conference on May 8th beginning at 9 am. His not guilty plea came with the request for a trial by jury. This case has also been set for the May jury docket on Tuesday the 14th at 10 am.