Tri-Cities Man Faces Child Porn, Drug Charges

Police arrested a 51-year-old St. Charles man after a child pornography investigation in Naperville and Downers Grove led authorities to the area.

Gary L. Harris, of the 1800 block of Howard Street, was arrested at 1 p.m. Monday, upon surrendering to St. Charles police, according to a release from the police department.

He is charged with the following:

• Four counts of aggravated child pornography, a Class 2 felony
• One count of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, cocaine, a Class X felony
• One count of manufacture/delivery of cannabis, more than 30 grams but less than 500 grams, a Class 3 felony

According to St. Charles police, authorities in Naperville and Downers Grove began investigating the sharing of child pornography in a file-sharing network, and their investigation implicated a St. Charles resident’s involvement. Police in those jurisdictions provided St. Charles police investigators with an IP address and a DVD.

St. Charles police obtained a search warrant, which they executed at Harris’ residence on Sept. 25, seizing computer equipment and DVDs as evidence. The release states that the investigation revealed that some of the many DVDs investigators reviewed were child pornography.

A green leafy substance and white powder were also seized at the residence that tested positive for marijuana and cocaine.

The Kane County States Attorney’s Office then authorized the charges against Harris.

Police obtained an arrest warrant with $100,000 bail, and Harris turned himself in early Monday afternoon, the release said. Harris was booked, processed and released on $10,000 cash bond.

If convicted on any Class X felony, Harris could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, according to sentencing guidelines in the current state statute.

Harris has a court appearance scheduled at 9 a.m. Nov. 14 in Room 311 of the Kane County Judicial Center.