Schaumburg Man Arrested On Federal Charge For Allegedly Transporting Child Pornography

CHICAGO — A Schaumburg man was arrested and charged with transporting child pornography for allegedly transmitting two pornographic images of a prepubescent minor to an undercover law enforcement officer last week, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendant, KURT S. MAYER, was charged in a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court following his arrest Friday night.

Mayer, 34, had an initial appearance Saturday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday before Magistrate Judge Brown in Federal Court.

According to the complaint affidavit, a detective with the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, who was assigned to an FBI task force and working in an undercover capacity, received an email last Thursday in response to an online advertisement. The user of the email account who responded to the ad was subsequently identified as Mayer.

The undercover officer exchanged a series of emails and instant messages with the individual, later identified as Mayer, during which Mayer allegedly sent the two images depicting child pornography. The undercover officer was able to confirm that that the child was real and that Mayer had just taken the photos as he had claimed in his messages, the complaint alleges.

On Friday, law enforcement agents were able to identify the email account and Internet address associated with the individual who responded to the online advertisement, as well as the identity and address of the customer associated with that Internet address. Mayer was arrested Friday evening near his home at the same time as agents were executing a federal search warrant at his residence.

Transportation of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The arrest and charge were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Schaumburg Police Department assisted with executing the search warrant and Mayer’s arrest. The investigation is continuing, they said.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. The task force is part of a nationwide effort known as the Innocence Lost National Initiative targeting those involved in the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the United States. In Chicago, the CETF is comprised of FBI special agents and officers and investigators from the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff's Office, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Hiller.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.