Former Westmont firefighter charged with child porn

A Downers Grove man who was a contract firefighter and paramedic in Westmont has been charged with possession of child pornography.

Peter Woitovich, 25, of the 5700 block of South Walnut Avenue, is free after posting $30,000 bail. He appeared in bond court Thursday afternoon.

Prosecutors said an investigation by the DuPage County sheriff's Sexual Predator Electronic Exploitation Division led authorities to Woitovich in late 2015. Police searched his residence Thursday morning and arrested him after finding illicit images, authorities said.

His next court appearance is set for Feb. 22. As a condition of his bail, Woitovich must stay away from children and cannot access the Internet.

Westmont officials said Woitovich, a January 2015 graduate of the Basic Operations Fire Academy at College of DuPage, had been on probationary status. He was terminated Friday morning.

"Child pornography is not a victimless crime," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "Year after year, hundreds of thousands of images are downloaded and shared over the Internet with each image representing yet another innocent, young victim of child pornography."