Edwardsville Resident Indicted on Child Pornography Charge

Christopher P. Hill, 54, of Edwardsville, Illinois, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for knowingly receiving child pornography, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen R. Wigginton announced today. The one-count indictment charges that from November 2011 to January 2013, Hill used a computer and a peer-to-peer file sharing software application knowingly to download thousands of child pornography images and videos. The crime carries a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence and is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for life.

Hill made his initial appearance on the charge on Tuesday, July 9. He was arraigned and pled not guilty. Despite the United States seeking that Hill be held without bond pending trial, Hill was ordered released on a $20,000 unsecured bond with conditions that include electronic monitoring, no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18, and no access to the Internet. Trial is currently scheduled for September 9, 2013.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

This case is being investigated by agents of the United States Secret Service, the Edwardsville Police Department, the Greenville Police Department, the Illinois State Police, the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI Cybercrime Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Nathan D. Stump is prosecuting the case.