Brian E. Sanders, 44, of William Lane, Brighton, was charged Friday in Madison County Circuit Court with a felony charge of Child Photography By A Sex Offender.
On Saturday, October 10, 2015, at approximately 9:28 a.m., the Madison County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint of a registered Child Sex Offender photographing two juvenile children on a trampoline in their back yard. A Sheriff’s Deputy met with the two children and their mother, at their home in rural Bethalto, Illinois. The deputy was told a subject doing business in the area for a private company approached the children on Friday, October 9, 2015, at approximately 2:00 p.m.
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The children, who were playing on the trampoline in their back yard, said the subject exited his vehicle and walked into their yard, where he asked them if he could video them doing flips on their trampoline. The subject told the children he wanted to use the video to teach his daughter how to do a flip. The children said the subject couldn’t get his phone to video them but he did photograph them on the trampoline.
The children told their mother about the event, who in turn contacted the subject’s employer. She told the employer she was concerned with the subject’s actions and asked for his name. The employer identified the employee as Brian E. Sanders. The mother checked the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry and learned Sanders was a registered Child Sex Offender, and contacted the Sheriff’s Office.
Sanders voluntarily met with Madison County Sheriff’s Office Investigators on Thursday morning. He was questioned about the events and ultimately taken into custody. Sanders was held in the Madison County Jail pending a formal presentation of facts to the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office. Sanders was convicted of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child on March 9, 1998, in Madison County, which made his actions a felony.
The warrant and criminal information was issued by the Honorable Judge Jennifer Hightower, who set Sanders’ bond at $80,000.00.
