Streamwood Man Admits Enticing Underage Boy to Produce Sexually Explicit Videos

CHICAGO — A Streamwood man has pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge and admitted enticing a 16-year-old boy to produce sexually explicit videos of himself.

MICHAEL LIEDTKE, 34, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of receipt of child pornography.  He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years.  U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo set sentencing for Oct. 28, 2019, at 10:30 a.m.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kevin Keithley, Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Robert Berlin, DuPage County State’s Attorney.  The Carol Stream Police Department provided valuable assistance.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abigail Peluso.

Liedtke admitted in a plea agreement that in December 2016 he enticed the 16-year-old boy to create two sexually explicit videos and send them to Liedtke via cellphone.  During a court-authorized search of Liedtke’s home earlier this year, law enforcement discovered an external disk drive that contained 29 images and six videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the plea agreement states.  Each of the children depicted in the images and videos was identified as a known child victim by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

Liedtke also admitted in the plea agreement that in January 2019 he possessed and operated a video camera that he intentionally hid in the ceiling of a public restroom at the DuPage County Training Academy in Carol Stream.  Recordings from the camera depicted the unclothed body parts of approximately 400 people using the restroom, including approximately 300 children under the age of 18, the plea agreement states.  Liedtke acknowledged in the plea agreement that he placed the video camera in the restroom to obtain the lewd images.

“This office will continue to prosecute and hold accountable those individuals who prey upon our youth,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “This plea agreement does just that, as Mr. Liedtke now stands as a convicted felon.  We appreciate the outstanding work of our colleagues at the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, as well as our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, who worked together to bring justice to Mr. Liedtke.”

“Mr. Liedtke betrayed our community by victimizing children entrusted to his care,” said FBI Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge Keithley.  “The FBI is charged with protecting our most vulnerable citizens from exploitation, and this guilty plea demonstrates our commitment to working with law enforcement partners to ensure that predators like Mr. Liedtke answer for their crimes.”

“Mr. Liedtke violated the trust placed in him by the parents of the athletes he trained,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Berlin said.  “I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work in holding Mr. Liedtke responsible for his vulgar behavior.  Today’s plea in federal court is an outstanding example of state and federal authorities working together to protect the public.”

As set forth in the federal plea agreement, now that the defendant has pleaded guilty and stipulated to a wide range of criminal conduct, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office will move to dismiss the parallel state criminal charges pending against Liedtke.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.  The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.