Waukegan man charged with distributing child abuse material

After a more than yearlong investigation, a Waukegan man now faces charges of possessing and distributing child sex abuse materials.

The investigation began in July 2025 after the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children office assigned three cyber tips from a social media account to the Lake County state’s attorney’s office for investigation.

Over several months, investigators were able to determine the suspect’s location and identity. A Lake County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Team executed a search warrant Wednesday on a home on the 400 block of McKinley Avenue in Waukegan.

Members of the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division, state’s attorney’s office, and the Waukegan Police Department searched the home and found Francisco Ruiz inside.

Ruiz, 32, is charged with two counts of dissemination of child abuse material, a Class X felony, and eight counts of possessing child pornography, a Class 2 felony.

With the help of Electronic Storage Detection K9s Enzo and Grip, investigators found additional electronic devices in the home. Several devices were seized and examined by the Illinois Attorney General Digital Forensics Lab, which led to the discovery of thousands of files of suspected of child abuse material.

Ruiz is scheduled to appear in court this morning. The Lake County state’s attorney’s office intends to file a petition to detain Ruiz in custody while the case is pending.