(MATTESON) A south suburban man is facing child pornography charges after authorities in Georgia linked him to someone they arrested last week, prosectuors said on Monday.
Matteson resident Robert Gressel, 35, is charged with counts of disseminating and possessing child pornography, according to a statement from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors claim that on Aug. 3, an agent from Georgia’s Special Bureau of Investigations informed the state’s attorney’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that they had arrested someone who may have a connection with Gressel.
The state’s attorney’s office notified Matteson police, who found that Gressel had been talking to the person in Georgia through an instant messaging application for cellphones. The two discussed child molestation and shared child pornography, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Through subpoenas, police found that Gressel’s phone was registered to his girlfriend at her home address, and the instant messaging account was set up through the same email he had listed on his Facebook account.
Police executed a search warrant on Aug. 7 at Gressel’s home and, through forensic analysis, located “hundreds” of images and videos of child pornography on his phone, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Gressel allegedly shared the pornography in a chat group dedicated to sharing the images and discussing child molestation.
On Monday, a Cook County Judge Darren Bowden ordered Gressel held on a $300,000 bond, the state’s attorney’s office said. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 28.
