The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has announced the arrest of a Gillespie man on child pornography charges.
45-year old Robert L. Jones has been charged in Macoupin County Circuit Court with five counts of dissemination of child pornography of a child under 13 years old, each Class X felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison; 10 counts of possession of child pornography of a child under 13 years old, each Class 1 felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and three counts of failure to register under the Sex Offender Act, Class 3 felonies each punishable by up to seven years in prison. Jones is detained at the Macoupin County Jail and his next court date is scheduled for Oct. 30th.
Jones was convicted in 2021 of aggravated criminal sexual abuse to a victim that was 16 in Macoupin County. According to the State Police Sex Offender Registry, Jones was 39 at the time of the abuse and was sentenced to 3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Raoul’s investigators, with the assistance of the Gillespie Police Department and Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department, searched Jones’ home on the 700 block of South Street in Gillespie on Tuesday and arrested him based off evidence collected on an electronic device and social media accounts that allegedly contained child pornography. Raoul’s office is co-prosecuting this case with Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison.