Former Wheaton Professor Pleads Not Guilty to Child Porn Charges

A former Wheaton College professor pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated possession of child pornography and weapons-related charges in DuPage County Thursday morning.

Donald Ratcliff, 60, of Carol Stream , two counts of without a FOID card and one count of possession of ammunition without a FOID card.

According to a March 29 statement from Wheaton College, Ratcliff's employment ended March 14.

Ratcliff is scheduled to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation prior to a discovery hearing May 2 before DuPage County Judge John Kinsella. He remains at DuPage County Jail, with a bond of $30,000.

Prosecutors said earlier that , viewed and shared explicit videos featuring girls as young as 3 years-old. He told investigators it was “potentially therapeutic” and a “healthy alternative” to adult pornography. He also said research in Europe determined viewing such images was a way to avoid becoming a pedophile.

At a March 8 hearing, prosecutors offered a detailed overview of materials recovered from computers and DVDs at Ratcliff's home after investigators tracked downloads of child pornography to his computer.