A Petersburg man with former ties to Our Saviour Grade School, Routt Catholic High School, and Central Christian Church in Jacksonville as well as youth theater productions in Springfield has pleaded guilty to 34 counts of sexual exploitation of children, possession of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography attached to a federal indictment.
30-year old Adam L. Power pleaded guilty to the charges before federal Magistrate Judge Colleen Lawless on Thursday in Springfield after requesting a change of plea in the case on April 17th, according to federal court records.
Power was originally arrested at his Petersburg residence by the Athens Police Department on March 22, 2023 and charged with 8 counts of possession of child pornography by the Menard County State’s Attorney’s Office. He was later released on electronic monitoring. The Menard County case was dismissed with leave to reinstate on July 26, 2023 in deference to the federal grand jury indictment.
On June 30, 2023, Power was arrested by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents on a federal warrant, and was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on the 34 counts in July 2023 varying from child sexual exploitation, possession of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography. He has remained lodged at the Sangamon County Jail in the custody of U.S. Marshals since his arrest.
Federal court documents allege that between June 2022 and March 2023 that Power requested, traded, and received child pornography from minors through the use of online social media applications like Instagram and Snapchat. Power was allegedly identifying himself as a minor female in order to get minor males to produce sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Additionally, it was alleged that Power distributed as well as received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
An Illinois Times investigation in April 2023 reported that some of Power’s behaviors went back as far as 2018 and 2019 while Power worked for the Springfield Theater Centre and was an employee with Routt/Our Saviour. The report revealed that Springfield Police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services interviewed several Springfield-area parents and their children in 2018 about allegations that Power made inappropriate, often sexual comments to minors through online social media applications after he had met them in theater productions. The 2018 investigation did not lead to any criminal charges. Then-Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright told the Illinois Times at the time: “Based on the investigation provided, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt, under the Illinois Criminal Code as written.” The Illinois Times report also revealed that Power was removed from the all-volunteer board of Theatre in the Park in New Salem for alleged sexual harassment against a contractual adult employee on the nonprofit’s technical staff, according to Mark Wheeler, the organization’s part-time executive director.
Power was employed in 2018 at Our Saviour Grade School and Routt Catholic High School as the athletic director, director of theater productions, and director of vocal music. The Diocese of Springfield previously confirmed Power left employment at the schools in January 2019. No reason was given for the departure.
Power also served as choir director at Central Christian Church in Jacksonville as recently as November 2022. Power also served as a substitute teacher in the area dating back to April 2021.
The offense of sexual exploitation of a minor carries a statutory penalty of at least fifteen years to a maximum of thirty years’ imprisonment; for both receipt and distribution of child pornography, the penalty is at least five years to a maximum of twenty years’ imprisonment.
Anyone who may have information about any further potential victims is asked to contact Springfield Homeland Security Investigations at 217-547-2114 or Michael.F.Mitchell@ice.dhs.gov.
Power will be sentenced in the U.S District Court of Central Illinois in Springfield on September 5th.