GREENVILLE - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced the Attorney General’s office has charged a Vermilion County man with alleged possession of child pornography. The case is part of Raoul’s ongoing work, in collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies and local law enforcement officials throughout Illinois, to apprehend offenders who download and trade child pornography online.
Raoul’s office, with the Bond County State’s Attorney’s office, charged Arturo Rebollo Jr., 20, of Hoopeston, Illinois, in Bond County Circuit Court with 15 counts of possession of child pornography, all Class 2 felonies, which are punishable from probation up to 28 years in prison. Rebollo is being held on a $750,000 bail.
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“Those who prey upon innocent children must be held accountable. I remain committed to protecting children from exploitation that can potentially leave life-long emotional scars,” Raoul said. “The collaboration of my investigators with local law enforcement agencies through our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is critical to holding perpetrators accountable.”
Robollo is currently a student at Greenville University in Bond County, Illinois. Raoul’s investigators, with the assistance of the Bond County Sheriff's office and Greenville University Campus Security, conducted a search of Robollo’s university residence Thursday, March 9 in the 300 block of East College Avenue in Greenville and arrested him after discovering evidence of child pornography.
Attorney General Raoul’s office will prosecute this case with Bond County State’s Attorney Dora Mann’s office.
“It takes cooperation and resources to prosecute this type of crime. I am pleased to have the assistance of the Attorney General’s Office in this investigation and prosecution. We stand together in assuring that our innocent children are protected and justice is served,” Mann said “I’d like to thank the Attorney General’s Office and the Bond County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in this case.”
The public is reminded the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The arrest is part of Attorney General Raoul’s work to investigate and prosecute child pornographers in Illinois. Raoul’s office, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force that investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. The task force receives CyberTips, or online reports of child pornography, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Over the last several years, CyberTipline reports have steadily increased. In 2022, reports to the ICAC increased by 26% over 2021.
Illinois’ ICAC Task Force is one of 61 ICAC Task Forces throughout the country and is comprised of a network of more than 300 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Since 2019, the Attorney General's ICAC Task Force has received more than 26,000 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 485 arrests of sexual predators. Since 2006, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 1,948 arrests of sexual predators. The task force also has provided internet safety training and education to more than 979,871 parents, teachers and students, in addition to more than 23,784 law enforcement professionals.
Katherine C. Hegarty is handling the case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes Bureau.
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