Man denies molesting, porn charges

A Lake Bluff man accused of molesting a 16-year-old boy and maintaining a collection of child pornography pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Ian O’Donohoe, 39, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse or possession of child pornography.

Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Stanton said investigators from the state attorney general’s office detected that child pornography had been downloaded from several Internet sites to computers at O’Donohoe’s residence.

On Jan. 8, police with a search warrant went to his residence in the 29000 block of Waukegan Road and found dozens of images of child pornography in computers.

While examining the computers, Stanton said, investigators found sexually suggestive correspondence between O’Donohoe and a person who was later identified as a 16-year-old Palatine boy.

Police interviewed the boy and were told he and O’Donohoe had met through the Craigslist website and had been involved in a sexual relationship for about a year.

Circuit judge John Phillips scheduled a trial of the case for May 2 and ordered O’Donohoe to appear in court April 20.

O’Donohoe is free from custody on a $75,000 bond.