South Elgin man gets 3 years for child porn

A Kane County judge Thursday sentenced a South Elgin man to three years in prison for possessing more than 1,000 images of child pornography along with at least seven videos of children.

A jury took less than an hour to convict William Muth, 45, of the 1400 block of South Blackhawk Circle, last October on 22 of 23 counts of child pornography possession, charges that carried a sentencing range of probation to five years.

Authorities raided Muth’s home in early 2008 after the FBI told local authorities they found Muth’s credit card information on a child pornography website.

Muth apologized for his actions, saying he turned to pornography after his relationship with his wife deteriorated after the couple lost a child, and that he didn’t know child pornography was included in a large file he downloaded off the Internet.

“I’m sorry for everything this has caused,” he told Judge T. Jordan Gallagher. “For a number of years, I lost my life.”

Gallagher didn’t believe Muth’s excuse that he accidentally got the child pornography.

“We’re talking about a gentlemen who possessed in excess of 1,000 images. We’re not just talking photographs, we’re talking videos,” he said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Christine Bayer argued Muth needed prison time to protect the community. Prosecutors also played for Gallagher a sample of three videos found in Muth’s home to show the videos also showed instances of children being abused.

Defense attorney John Paul Carroll pushed for probation, arguing Muth had no criminal history, did not make the pornography himself and did not resell it. Prison time, Carroll said, also would hurt Muth’s wife and three children.

Muth can have his prison term cut in half for good behavior.

Muth, however, could face a six- to 30-year sentence if convicted in another Kane County case in which he is accused of criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse of a 6-year-old.

He is due in court on those charges April 28.