DeKalb Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 16, 2011 |
ROCKFORD—A DeKalb, Illinois man pleaded guilty today in federal court to possessing child pornography that had crossed state lines. DOMINICK PELLETIER, 33, admitted to possessing child pornography before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala, who scheduled Pelletier’s sentencing hearing for 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2011.
According to court documents, Pelletier applied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for employment as an intelligence analyst. As a part of the standard employment application process, Pelletier submitted to a polygraph examination at the FBI office in Chicago during August 2008.
During a routine post-polygraph interview with FBI agents, Pelletier admitted he thought he had trouble during the polygraph examination with a question relating to child pornography. Later during the interview, Pelletier admitted that there were images of child pornography on his computer at his home, and consented to a search of his computer. In pleading guilty today, Pelletier admitted a computer he owned contained images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Pellitier faces a maximum potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The court must impose a reasonable sentence guided by the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The guilty plea was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the investigation.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.