Round Lake Beach man pleads not guilty to porn charge

A Round Lake Beach man pleaded not guilty Thursday to possessing at least seven images of child pornography in his computer.

John Paul Maczko, 27, faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Mary Stanton said Mazcko, of the 2100 block of Stonehedge Court, was identified by the FBI as having downloaded child pornography from some Internet sites targeted in a federal investigation.

Local officials used that information to obtain a search warrant and took it to Maczko's residence on the night of April 7, Stanton said. Investigators seized three laptop computers, two computer towers and a portable hard drive in the raid, Stanton said.

An examination of the computers turned up seven images of child pornography that Stanton said Maczko admitted downloading from the Internet. Maczko told police he had downloaded 100 to 1,000 similar images in the recent past, Stanton said.

Associate Judge Theodore Potkonjak scheduled a trial of the case for July 13 and ordered Maczko, who was released after posting $2,500 for bond, to appear in court June 25.