McHenry man gets 8 years for drugs, child porn

A McHenry man formerly accused of molesting three teenage girls was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty today to unrelated drug and child pornography charges.

As part of a plea deal, county prosecutors dismissed charges alleging Christoper R. Ostrander, 38, of the 4000 block of Boone Creek Circle, had sexual contact with underage girls dating back to 1999.

His attorney, Matthew Haiduk, declined to comment on what that says about the validity of the claims, but said the case was "not as straightforward" as McHenry County Sheriff's police indicated when Ostrander was charged in 2006.

The charges resulted from an investigation initiated when one of the girls, 16 at the time, contacted sheriff's police claiming she had been sexually abused by Ostrander, who was dating her mother.

Further investigation, sheriff's police said at the time, led to similar claims by two of the girl's friends. Ostrander denied the allegations, with a defense lawyer at one point claiming the first victim made up the accusations because she was unhappy the defendant was dating her mother.

Under the plea deal approved today, Ostrander admitted possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and possession of child pornography, both Class 3 felonies. The latter charge stems from allegations he had on his computer an image of an underage girl performing a sex act. The girl pictured was not one of the three he was accused of molesting.

As a result of the child pornography conviction, Ostrander must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

If convicted of all the charges he once faced - including predatory criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault and seven counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse - Ostrander could have been sentenced to more than 100 years in prison, Haiduk said.

In an unusual move for a defense lawyer, Haiduk went out of his way today to praise the work of the McHenry County State's Attorney's office, particularly Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs.

"Mr. Combs' handling of this case has been exceptional," he said.

Combs declined to comment, and State's Attorney Louis Bianchi was not immediately available to discuss the case.

Ostrander still faces a charge of harassing a witness and weapons offenses stemming from an April 24 incident in which he approached and spoke to one of his teenage accusers outside a McHenry grocery store. The weapons charges allege he unlawfully had ammunition, including armor-piercing bullets, in his home.