Wheaton man gets 6 years for child porn

A Wheaton man was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for disseminating child pornography, but might end up serving his time in a state boot camp instead.

Robert D. Miller, 21, pleaded guilty to a felony child pornography charge in exchange for the six-year sentence and a judge’s referral to boot camp, otherwise known as “impact incarceration.”

Miller was charged in June 2008 after authorities conducting an online investigation downloaded child pornography from the defendant’s computer through an Internet file-sharing service. The investigation led to a search of Miller’s residence on the 26W100 block of Menomini Drive, where authorities found a computer containing pornographic images of children.

When interviewed by police, Miller “admitted to downloading images of child pornography … and that he was aware other people had downloaded child pornography from his computer,” Assistant DuPage County State’s Attorney Diane Michalak told Judge John Kinsella in court Friday.

Kinsella agreed to recommend Miller to boot camp, but said whether the defendant is accepted into the program is up to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

By law, Miller must serve at least half the sentence, in either prison or boot camp. He also must register as a sex offender for life, pay a mandatory $1,000 fine, and forfeit computer equipment seized from his home.

Miller’s pornography case came about while he was on probation for an earlier attempted residential burglary. Kinsella encouraged him to seek treatment and get his life in order.

“You can’t remain stagnant here,” the judge told him. “You’ve got to come out a different person — none of us want to see you back here again.”