Lindenhurst man jailed on child porn charges

A 55-year-old Lindenhurst man remained jailed Thursday on child pornography charges after a joint investigation by local police and the state attorney general's office.

Mark Galer, 55, was held on $250,000 bond after his arrest Wednesday. Investigators with Lindenhurst police and the attorney general's office on Tuesday used a search warrant of Galer's home on the 2200 block of Valley Drive to seize computers and devices that store digital media.

Galer was charged with reproduction of child pornography, a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison. He was also charged with four counts of possession of child pornography, a Class 2 felony that carries a sentence of three to seven years in prison, according to an attorney general's office news release that announced the charges Wednesday.

The arrest was part of "Operation Glass House," a statewide initiative to apprehend the most active offenders who download and trade child pornography online, according to the release. This is the 61st arrest since the initiative was launched in August 2010.

In the release, Attorney General Lisa Madigan said criminals are "lurking behind closed doors" to trade and download images of children being sexually abused.

"What they may not realize, though, is that we can track what they're doing online, and we will continue to be relentless in apprehending the state's worst offenders for destroying the lives of innocent victims," Madigan said in the release.

Her office's High Tech Crimes Bureau has revealed a "disturbing community of criminals who are trading and viewing extremely violent videos of children as young as infants being raped and abused," according to the release.

Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim said in the release that the number and complexity of these cases shows the need for cooperation between agencies.

Nerheim's office will prosecute the case in Lake County circuit court. Galer's court date was set for July 7.