A Petersburg man who was a security guard at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired in Jacksonville that was arrested this past fall on Child Pornography charges has been sentenced to prison time.
52-year old Shane E. Guernsey was given a 9-year prison sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections in Menard County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to Class X felony child pornography dissemination.
Guernsey was arrested on September 26, 2024 by the Illinois State Police and members of the Petersburg Police Department after a warrant was executed at Guernsey’s residence. On June 18, 2024, ISP agents initiated an investigation after learning a subject was possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material. During the investigation, ISP agents assigned to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General Internet Crimes against Children Task Force gathered digital evidence indicating that Guernsey possessed child sexual abuse material at his residence in Petersburg.
Guernsey was placed on suspended leave without pay during the course of the criminal investigation from the Illinois Department of Human Service, who oversees employment at ISVI.
Guernsey is currently held at the Menard County Jail awaiting placement for his time in IDOC. In addition to his prison term, Guernsey was sentenced to 3 year to life of mandatory supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $7,600 in fines, fees, and court assessments. He was given credit for 176 days – 33 days in jail and 143 days spent on GPS pretrial monitoring.