McHenry man charged with possessing, disseminating child pornography

A McHenry man faces numerous charges related to child pornography, Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office said.

Joseph Gould, 31, was charged after investigators searched his home Friday in the 400 block of North Hill Road and found evidence of child pornography, Madigan's office said in a statement.

Gould was charged with three counts of dissemination of child pornography, Class X felonies punishable by between 6 and 30 years in prison, and seven counts of possession of child pornography, Class 2 felonies punishable by 3 to 7 years in prison.

The investigation was a joint effort between Madigan's office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, the McHenry County Sheriff's Office and the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office.

"HSI is committed to thwarting the distribution of child pornography, and to ensuring that criminals like the defendant are brought to justice for preying on vulnerable children," said James M. Gibbons, special agent in charge of HSI in Chicago. "HSI works closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and arrest child sexual predators who possess and trade child pornography. This is an important fight to protect our children."

Gould appeared in a McHenry County bond court Saturday morning. His bond was set at $250,000.