Ex-Naperville YMCA worker gets 4 years for child porn
A former Naperville Heritage YMCA worker pleaded guilty Thursday to child pornography possession and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Erik S. Paxton, 26, of the 100 block of Rosedale Avenue, Aurora, also must register for life as a sex offender.
The plea agreement, in which Kane County prosecutors dismissed burglary and trespassing charges, was approved by Kane County Circuit Court Judge Karen Simpson.
Aurora police discovered the child pornography after Paxton's arrest in May 2012 in a "peeping Tom" incident in the 200 block of South Westlawn Avenue. He was charged with burglarizing Aurora homes and watching girls through their bedroom windows, according to court records. The children in the photos were nude.
Paxton later admitted to police to spying on a 13-year-old girl and women in March and April of that year, as well as entering their homes and cars to steal undergarments, a nightgown and a bathing suit.
At the time of his arrest, authorities said they did not believe the pornographic images were of children Paxton worked with during his former employment at the YMCA or while volunteering at a homeless shelter in Aurora.
Paxton faced up to 30 years in prison on charges of aggravated child pornography and up to 15 years in prison on the burglary charges.
Paxton could be released in several months. Under state law, he can have his prison sentence cut in half for good behavior behind bars.
Paxton gets credit for the almost 21 months spent in the Kane County jail, where he was held on $760,000 bail since his arrest.