St. Charles man guilty of child porn charge

A St. Charles man convicted of a child pornography charge will spend next summer in jail, a judge ruled Thursday.

Gregory J. Mexin, 21, also must complete four years of probation, pay $2,375 in fines and costs, and register as a sex offender for life.

Mexin pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced charge of attempted dissemination of child pornography, a Class 2 felony, and was sentenced in a plea deal approved by Kane County Circuit Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon.

Sheldon agreed to postpone a 180-day jail sentence until June 2011 because Mexin is currently attending college. By law, Mexin must serve at least 90 days.

Prosecutor David Haslett of the Illinois Attorney General's High Tech Crimes Unit said Mexin came under investigation as a result of peer-to-peer file sharing online.

Authorities recovered three pornographic images of girls between the ages of 8 and 12 on one of three computers they seized from Mexin's apartment on the 1300 block of Prairie Street last October, Assistant State's Attorney Alex Bederka said.

Mexin could have faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted at trial. Bederka said the plea deal was reached in part because of his limited criminal history.

"He literally has one traffic ticket," Bederka said. "He's a kid."

Mexin declined to comment as he left court.