Palatine man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography

A Palatine man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to child pornography charges Algonquin police filed in 2021 and was sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison, according to documents filed in the McHenry County courthouse.

Kevin R. Fricke, 30, of the 400 block of North Cambridge Drive, entered into a negotiated plea of guilty to one count of child pornography/possessing photos of a victim younger than 13 on Nov. 8, 2021, a Class 2 felony, according to court documents.

Fricke, who has been held in the McHenry County jail since his arrest on Nov. 9, 2021, admitted to having the sexually explicit image of someone "whom he reasonably should have known was" a child under the age of 13 on his cellphone, according to the complaint.

In exchange for his guilty plea, additional felony charges were dismissed including nine additional counts of possessing pornographic photos of children younger than 13 on Nov. 8, 2021, as well as one count of unlawful videotaping of a person younger than 18 on Oct. 17, 2021, according to court records.

Fricke initially was accused of recording a child without their knowledge or consent while they were dressing, court records show. Investigators also discovered multiple pornographic images of children on Fricke's cellphone, according to the complaint filed by Algonquin police.

He also was ordered to pay $2,814 in fees but was granted a waiver, according to records. He is required to serve his sentence at 50% and will receive credit for time served.