Waukegan man faces child pornography charges

A Waukegan man was charged with five counts of possessing child pornography after Lake County sheriff’s detectives received a tip from an email provider.

The tip showed suspected child pornography was e-mailed by a device in Lake County. Investigators determined the likely source was an apartment on the 3300 block of Sunset Avenue, authorities said.

Electronics containing dozens of child pornography images and videos of children under 13 were found Thursday at the apartment of Thomas Castillo, 65, authorities said.

Castillo was held in the Lake County jail pending an initial court hearing Friday morning. The Lake County state’s attorney’s office said it intends to file a petition to detain Castillo while he awaits trial.

Additional charges are possible, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Electronic detection K-9s Grip from the state’s attorney’s office and Enzo from the sheriff’s office assisted with the search. The cybercrimes unit, including Enzo, this year has conducted dozens of investigations resulting in numerous arrests of offenders preying on children, according to Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg.