Joseph Fieger, 40, of 983 Harvard Court, Highland Park, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 24 months probation and ordered to make a $1,000 contribution to the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center.

Javier Piedrahita, 43, of 31339 N. Ranch Road, Grayslake, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Matthew Kuehl, 27, of 17417 Chestnut Lane, Gurnee, is charged with possession of child pornography and his case is set for arraignment.

Bobby Armstong, 63, of 1234 Ballantrae Place, Unit A, Mundelein, charged with possession of child pornography and is scheduled to voluntarily surrender to police.

Brian Hooper, 42, of 19482 W. Grand Ave., Lake Villa, charged with possession of child pornography and his case is set for arrangement.

Lawrence Lott, 46, of 2390 Quaker Hollow, Round Lake Beach, charged with possession of child pornography and his case is set for arraignment.

Others who pleaded guilty to child pornography charges were Ronald Patton, 39, of 2425 Samson Way, Apt. 1E, Waukegan and Gary Gibson, 43, of 7208 Hasting Circle, Fox Lake.

Three other individuals, Steve Matoga, 27, of 17417 Chestnut Lane, Gurnee; Rory Klema, 43, of 33 W. Chicago Ave., Mundelein; and Craig Doyle, 25, of 1703 Partridge St., Waukegan, are all wanted on warrants on child pornography possession charges.

The Lake County investigation began as a result
of a federal investigation into a child pornography
and money laundering scheme in Minsk, Belarus. Through that investigation, federal investigators
identified and shut down a child pornography Web
site in Florida. Federal authorities obtained the
names of individuals were subscribing to the site
and sent them to local authorities throughout the country.

Waller said initially 29 potential cases were identified in Lake County. In some cases, it was determined the individuals had moved out of the area, there was insufficient evidence, or the individuals had been victims of identify theft, he said.

The investigation in Lake County was a joint effort between the Lake County Sheriff's Department, the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center, and the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division, as well as local police departments. Waller said county investigators logged more than 400 man hours in developing the cases against the defendants.

"Lake County is the first county in the Midwest, maybe in the country to complete this investigation," he said.

Robert T DeMarco
IP Group Inc.
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