McHenry County man accused of sharing child porn online

A 20-year-old McHenry Township man faces up to 15 years in prison after his arrest this week on allegations he was sharing images containing child pornography online.

Steven J. Tipman, of the 4900 block of Pistakee Drive, is charged with two counts of child pornography and six counts of possession of child pornography stemming from a nine-month investigation into the dissemination of the images over an Internet file-sharing service.

Tipman, arrested Thursday during a warrant sweep by McHenry County Sheriff's deputies, was in custody at the county jail Friday unable to post a $12,500 cash bond.

The arrest is the culmination of a sheriff's investigation launched in October when a detective made a connection with a person believed to be Tipman online and downloaded child pornography from him with file-sharing software, sheriff's Lt. James Popovits said Friday.

Investigators tracked the download back to Tipman's home and on March 25 served a search warrant to seize three computers, Popovits said. A search of the computers by the Regional Chicago Forensic Lab found multiple images of child pornography, he said.

The child pornography charges are Class 1 felonies punishable by four to 15 years in prison. The possession charges are Class 3 felonies carrying a maximum prison sentence of two to five years.

Tipman is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a hearing on his request for a lower bond. His attorney, Daniel Hofmann, declined to comment Friday.