Search of Huntley home results in 17 charges of child sex abuse images against 20-year-old

A Huntley man has been charged with 17 counts of possessing and distributing images of child sex abuse, police said in a news release Thursday.

John T. Ruffalo, 20, is charged with five counts of distribution of child sexual abuse materials, which are Class X felonies, as well as 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse materials involving a child younger than 13 and two counts of possession of child sexual abuse materials involving a child young than 18, according to McHenry County court records and a news release from the Huntley Police Department.

Authorities said the investigation began in July when the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force provided Huntley police with information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The center’s data system reported that a Huntley-based IP address was attempting to share potential child sexual abuse materials for download via a cloud-based, client-server service, police said in the news release.

The Huntley Police Department’s Investigations Division then conducted a probe that led to Ruffalo, authorities said.

On Wednesday, Huntley police detectives and investigators from the Illinois attorney general’s office, with assistance from Illinois State Police and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 Enzo, served a search warrant at his home.

Based on what authorities said was found, Ruffalo was charged and taken into custody.

Ruffalo was being held Thursday at the McHenry County jail. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday afternoon for a detention hearing.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Huntley Police Department at (847) 515-5311. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling the Huntley Police Tip Line at (847) 515-5333.