Petersburg, Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Thirty-Four Felony Counts Involving Crimes Against Children

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Petersburg, Illinois, man, Adam L. Power, 30, of the 500 block of 8^th Street in Petersburg, Illinois, pleaded guilty to seven counts of production of child pornography, eight counts of distribution of child pornography, eighteen counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography on May 3, 2024, for his criminal actions between July 2022 and February 2023. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September 5, 2024, at the U.S. Courthouse in Springfield, Illinois.

According to the facts in support of his plea, Power, while using online chatting applications such as Snapchat and Kik, identified himself as a minor female to get minor males to produce child pornographic images and videos of themselves. Additionally, Power distributed as well as received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Power was originally arrested in Petersburg, Illinois, on March 21, 2023, and charged for possession of child pornography by the Menard County State’s Attorney’s Office. On June 30, 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield charged the defendant with production, distribution, and receipt of child pornography. A Grand Jury returned a ten-count indictment on July 6, 2023. Subsequently, on January 3, 2024, the Grand Jury returned a superseding indictment charging him with a total of thirty-four counts involving crimes against children. Power has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since June 30, 2023.

Each count of production of child pornography carries a statutory penalty of at least fifteen years with a maximum of thirty years’ imprisonment.  The charges of receipt and distribution of child pornography carry a penalty of at least five years to a maximum of twenty years’ imprisonment; and for possession of child pornography, he can be penalized up to twenty years imprisonment.

Agencies participating in the investigation include the Department of Homeland Security, Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Athens Police Department, Illinois State Police, Petersburg Police Department, and the Menard County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner K. Jacobs is representing the government in the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.