Suburban Chicago High School Coach Charged With Possession of Child Pornography

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago high school track and field coach has been charged with possessing child pornography.

Per the complaint, beginning in the summer of 2022 and continuing until September of 2022, GLEN CLIFFORD MESSMER, 46, of Darien, an assistant track coach at High School A, interacted with at least two minors, Minor A and Minor B, in another State via the social media platforms Snapchat and Telegram.  Messmer convinced the two minors to produce child sexual abuse material, in at least one instance providing specific instructions as to how to produce the material he wanted.  The complaint alleges that Messmer paid Minor A and Minor B for the child sexual abuse material via CashApp. 

On April 25, 2023 law enforcement executed a search warrant at Messmer’s home and identified multiple image and video files that contained child pornography on a computer in the residence.  Messmer was arrested and had an initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cummings on April 26, 2023.  Messmer is currently detained in federal custody pending a detention hearing before Judge Cummings. 

The charge was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Sean Fitzgerald, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of Homeland Security Investigations.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Rosenbloom.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The charges are punishable by a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to www.missingkids.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678.  The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.