State’s Attorney Glasgow’s High Technology Crimes Unit investigation leads to Class X child pornography charges against man

in

May 24

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a Joliet man has been charged with multiple counts of child pornography after a search warrant was executed at his apartment in the 200 block of Madison Street early Thursday morning.

David Vaksdal, 45, was charged formally with eight counts of child pornography on Friday afternoon. The charges are all Class X felonies that carry a penalty of nine to 30 years in prison with no option for probation upon conviction. He faces a minimum of 72 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Bond was set at $5 million during a court hearing on Friday afternoon. Vaksdal must post 10 percent, or $500,000 to secure his release while he is awaiting trial.

The case against Vaksdal was initiated by Will County State’s Attorney Glasgow’s High Technology Crimes Unit and investigated in cooperation with the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Joliet Police Department.

Glasgow established the High Technology Crimes Unit in 2012 to target predators that produce, download and trade illegal child pornography over the Internet as well as those who are actively trying to arrange meetings with children. The unit has launched roughly three dozen investigations that have resulted in felony charges over the past 18 months.

Vaksdal’s computers were seized Thursday during the execution of the search warrant, which was signed by Judge Sarah Jones.

Vaksdal had been convicted by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office in Will County Circuit Court and by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in U.S. District Court in Kansas of trading child pornography following an investigation and charges into his Internet activities in the late 1990s. He was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office reminds the public that charges are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.