Island Lake man detained on charges he had thousands of sex abuse videos

An Island Lake man accused of possessing thousands of videos of child sex abuse agreed with a detective that his “compulsion” for watching such material is “like an addiction to smoking cigarettes,” a McHenry County judge said recently when ruling to jail the defendant.

Lawrence M. Root, 51, is charged with eight counts of reproducing images of child sex abuse, Class X felonies, as well several counts of as possessing images of child sex abuse, all involving children under the age of 13, according to an indictment in McHenry County court. If convicted on the Class X felonies, he could face decades in prison.

Root appeared in court in June for a detention hearing, at which Judge Michael Zasadil agreed with prosecutors that Root is a threat to the community and should be detained pretrial. The judge said there are no conditions that could keep Root from committing similar offenses.

Assistant McHenry County State’s Attorney Garrett Miller said that even if Root is not creating the images depicting child sexual abuse, he is a “willing and enthusiastic audience.”

Miller referred to a statement made by a seasoned detective whose job is to investigate those consuming such materials. The detective said that what Root had were “among the worst (he has) ever seen.”