Wheaton Nanny Arrested for Distribution of Child Pornography

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced today the arrest of a Wheaton, Illinois man, employed as a child care provider, for distribution of child pornography.

LUBOS ALBRECHT, age 22, who was employed as a live-in nanny in the western suburb, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, without incident, by special agents assigned to the Chicago FBI’s Innocent Images Task Force (IITF) at the Wheaton address. ALBRECHT was charged in a criminal complaint filed yesterday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of distribution of child pornography, which is a felony offense.

According to the complaint, on two separate dates beginning in December of last year, an FBI agent assigned to the IITF and working online in an undercover capacity downloaded child pornographic images on a peer-to-peer file sharing network from a user identified as “Boys20096.” Subsequent investigation eventually traced the Internet protocol address for this user to the Wheaton residence.

During a search of the residence conducted Wednesday morning, a laptop computer, believed to belong to ALBRECHT, was discovered. A preliminary forensic review of the laptop discovered approximately 6,000 images or videos of what appeared to be child pornography.

Subsequent investigation by the IITF developed additional evidence linking ALBRECHT to the laptop computer and the peer-to-peer file sharing network from which the child pornographic images were obtained, resulting in the charges announced today.

In announcing this arrest, Mr. Grant recognized the invaluable assistance provided by both the Lockport and Wheaton Police departments during the course of this investigation.

ALBRECHT appeared before Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown in Chicago, late yesterday, at which time he was formally charged. ALBRECHT was ordered held without bond, pending his next court appearance, which is scheduled for Monday, March 29th. Until then, ALBRECHT will be held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago. If convicted of the charge filed against him, ALBRECHT faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five (5) years' incarceration to a maximum of twenty (20) years' incarceration.

Anyone recognizing ALBRECHT and having any information which might be relevant to this investigation is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700.

The FBI’s Innocent Images initiative was established in 1996 and is part of a nationwide effort to combat the manufacture, distribution and possession of child pornography. At present, there are 43 separate Innocent Images task forces in various FBI offices around the country, which are investigating similar cases. The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Copies of the criminal complaint filed in this case are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.