Zion man charged with possession of child porn after home search

A 50-year-old Zion man was charged with 11 counts of child pornography possession following a search of his home Tuesday by investigators for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul as well as officials from the Lake County Sheriff's office and the Lake County state's attorney's office.

A Lake County judge set bail for Darin Richardson at $300,000, which means he'd need to post $30,000 to leave jail until his trial, according to a news release from the attorney general's office Wednesday.

Raoul said the operation that led to Richardson's arrest was part of his office's ongoing efforts to apprehend the most active offenders who download and trade child pornography online.

“Child pornography exploits children, often leaving victims with lifelong trauma,” Raoul said. “The collaborations between the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and local law enforcement are essential to protecting children and keeping child pornography out of our communities."

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has been involved in more than 1,700 arrests since 2006, according to the news release. The task force has also provided internet safety training and education to more than 950,000 parents, teachers and students and more than 22,000 law enforcement professionals.

“I am very proud of the collaboration in this investigation and arrest, which led to the apprehension of a man who preyed on our most vulnerable,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said. “Child predators commonly lurk in the shadows of the internet. I cannot stress it enough: parents, please be proactive in monitoring who your children communicate with online.”

According to Raoul's office, Richardson was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1991 and sentenced to six years confinement after being found guilty of committing indecent acts on children under 16.