Wood Dale bomb-making suspect now faces child porn charges

A Wood Dale man accused of stockpiling bomb-making materials has been arrested again — this time on child pornography charges, authorities said Tuesday.

DuPage County Judge Elizabeth Sexton set bail at $100,000 for Bryan R. Roehr, 24, who appeared in bond court on one count of aggravated child pornography.

Roehr is accused of possessing hundreds of pornographic videos and photos of children younger than 13, some of whom were “bound, fettered or subject to sadistic abuse,” according to court records.

Wood Dale Deputy Police Chief Mike Rivas said the images were found on computer equipment taken from Roehr's home on the 200 block of North Oakland Drive in an unrelated search for bomb-making materials last year.

Roehr was served with an arrest warrant Monday in the county jail, where he was already being held on charges of possession of explosives or incendiary devices, intimidation and criminal damage to property.

In the earlier case, Roehr is accused of possessing potassium perchlorate, aluminum powder, cardboard tubes, and cannon fuses, among other materials. He was arrested last August after blowing up a trash bin outside a Bensenville church and threatening a man's 2-year-old son with a bomb, authorities said at the time.

Roehr, who has pleaded not guilty in the explosives case, told police he was a “fan of the Fourth of July” who learned to build bombs by watching YouTube videos, prosecutors said. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

Rivas credited Wood Dale detectives for the thorough investigation that ultimately led to additional charges against Roehr.

“It was a good bit of police work, taking it a step further than the bomb investigation,” he said.

Roehr returns to court later this month. If convicted as charged, he could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison in the bomb-making case and up to seven years in the child pornography case.