Two Southern Illinois Residents Charged With Child Pornography Offenses

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Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that two southern Illinois residents were charged and appeared in Court today on child pornography offenses alleged to have occurred in Perry and Williamson Counties. Aaron Michael Amann, 25, of DuQuoin, Illinois and Collin A. Smith, 31, of Cambria, Illinois, were charged in separate cases with using a computer to access and download child pornography images from the internet.

The offenses carry a maximum penalty of at least 30 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

The investigations in these cases were conducted by the Secret Service Southern Illinois Cyber Crimes Task Force, The United States Marshals Service, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, the Benton, Illinois, Police Department, the DuQuoin, Illinois, Police Department and the Cambria, Illinois, Police Department.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas E. Leggans.