Former Illinois state trooper pleads guilty to child porn
BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter/drozek@suntimes.com June 14, 2011 11:10AM
Juan Rodriguez
Updated: September 21, 2011 12:33AM
Claiming he was “bored” during late-night patrol shifts, Illinois State Police trooper Juan Rodriguez started using his department-issued laptop computer to browse websites offering child pornography. But the site previously had been infiltrated by federal investigators, who traced the credit card number and other information provided in 2008 back to Rodriguez and his police-issued computer, prosecutors said. The disclosures came as the now-retired, 51-year-old Glen Ellyn man pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and official misconduct. Though Rodriguez faced up to five years in prison, as a result of a plea deal he is expected to receive a 60-day jail term and be placed on 30 months’ probation when he is formally sentenced in July. Rodriguez, who remains free on bond, also must register for life as a sex offender and undergo a sex offender evaluation. His felony convictions are expected to cost him the pension he accrued during his 27 years as a state trooper, officials said. While calling Rodriguez’s actions “a single, isolated incident,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said the case still was “difficult to stomach. “Child pornography is not a victimless crime. It steals its victim’s innocence one photograph at a time,” Berlin said in a statement.
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