St. Charles man gets 16 years in child porn plea deal

A St. Charles man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison on his second conviction for a child pornography crime.

Corey J. McDonald, 30, of the 1500 block of Main Street, pleaded guilty to dissemination of child pornography Friday.

Assistant State’s Attorney Amanda Busljeta told Kane County Judge John Barsanti that on June 23, investigators with the Kane County Child Exploitation Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that McDonald was using his Kik messaging app account to upload and disseminate child sexual abuse material.

He had disseminated multiple videos depicting children under the age of 13.

McDonald will have to serve at least half the sentence before being eligible for parole. He will also have to register for life as a sex offender.

McDonald is already on the sex-offender registry for a 2021 conviction of possession of child pornography — victim under the age of 13. In that case, he was sentenced to 24 months of probation and lifetime registry.

In accordance with Illinois law, McDonald is eligible for day-for-day sentencing. He receives credit for 143 days served in the Kane County jail.