Beach Park man charged again with possession of child porn

A registered sex offender from Beach Park was charged with possession of child pornography for the second time since 2010, Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim said in a news release Tuesday.

Allen Ayen, 67, was charged with three counts of possessing child pornography and is being held in the Lake County jail while he awaits his preliminary hearing, according to the news release.

In 2010, Ayen, then living in Park City, was charged with several counts of possessing child pornography after investigators found he had more than 1,000 illicit images and more than 700 illicit videos, the state's attorney's office said.

He was sentenced to 30 months of probation and nine months of electronic monitoring after pleading guilty.

This time, the news release says, investigators charged Ayen after searching his hotel room on the 39000 block of North Sheridan Road and finding evidence of child pornography. The Illinois attorney general's office helped in the investigation.

"The consistent communication between both offices has resulted in, once again, apprehending a repeat sex offender in Lake County," Nerheim said.

Ayen's bail was set at $300,000.