Lake Co. juvenile counselor charged with possessing child porn

A Lake County juvenile counselor was arrested and charged Friday afternoon on allegations he possessed child pornography and was grooming female prisoners at the Lake County juvenile justice center, officials said.

Matthew Goebel, 26, of Morton Grove, turned himself into authorities Friday afternoon after he was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography, indecent solicitation of a child and grooming.

In the context of a charge, "grooming" is the act of purposefully becoming emotionally connected to a minor, with the aim of eventually exploiting that relationship for sexual or other means.

Goebel was ordered held in Lake County jail Friday afternoon by Judge Christen Bishop on $250,000 bail. Defense attorney Elliot Pinsel was granted a new hearing Monday to review the bail amount.

Pinsel did not comment after the hearing Friday.

Bishop did not release additional details of the charges in court, except to say they involve two girls under the age of 18 and the incidents occurred while Goebel was employed as a counselor at the Robert W. Depke Juvenile Justice Center near Vernon Hills.

The circuit court is in charge of Lake County court services, including the probation department and juvenile counselors.

Administrator Robert Zastany said officials became aware of the allegations last year and began an internal investigation.

Goebel was suspended with pay in October 2014, as the investigation began, Zastany said. He was placed on unpaid leave the next month, and it was recommended Goebel be fired for "gross misconduct," Zastany said.

Goebel was fired Nov. 26. He had worked in the office for more than a year, Zastany said.

Should Goebel post bail, Bishop ordered him not have contact with anyone under the age of 18. He was also ordered to not use the Internet, not have any drugs or alcohol and to abide by any curfew set by the county probation department.

The Lake County state's attorney's office special investigations division investigated allegations of misconduct against Goebel after the complaints were made to the Lake County Probation Department, said Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim.

He said he was not allowed to go into specific details of the case.

"These cases are always egregious, but they are particularly troublesome when they involve a betrayal of the public's trust," Nerheim said. "The citizens of Lake County have the right to expect its employees to act in an honest and ethical manner. Any lesser standard will not be tolerated."

According to the Lake County government website, Goebel was hired in June of 2013 to serve as a counselor and was making about $42,000 annually.

If found guilty of the most serious charges, Goebel could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison.