St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly takes helm at Illinois prosecutors association

St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly wants to put the spotlight on “going dark.”

Kelly was elected as the president of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association. In addition to advocating for sexual assault investigation reform and public official ethics training, Kelly said as president of the group one of his priorities is the issue of encryption, or “going dark.”

“Going dark” refers to a challenge criminal investigators have faced since 2014 when Apple and Google’s new operating systems automatically began encrypting their phones. If law enforcement does not have the password, Apple and Google can no longer access the phone, even with a court-ordered search warrant. The encryption may apply to some computers and laptops as well. If a murder victim never told their passcode to anyone or if a suspect refuses to disclose his passcode, the potential evidence or clues on the phone may remain permanently inaccessible.

“Most folks live on their smartphones now and the bad guys are no different,” Kelly said.

While in the past, criminals may have kept evidence of their crimes in file cabinets, closets and safes, today that evidence is found on smartphones, Kelly said. Photos and videos of child sexual assault; text messages between sex traffickers and their customers; a video of a murder victim being shot to death — these are just a few of the pieces of evidence found on smartphones and used to prosecute people committing horrific crimes, Kelly said.

“Addressing this challenge will require prosecutors to work with federal regulators and industry leaders,” he said.

Lou Bianchi, the association’s former president, said he met Kelly during meetings and conferences.

“Brendan Kelly will make an outstanding leader for the 105 state’s attorneys in Illinois,” Bianchi said.

Bianchi commended Kelly on an “aggressive but doable agenda” for the association.

Kelly was recently appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner to the Illinois Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform Commission. He also serves as a co-chair of Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Sexual Assault Working Group and is a board member of the National District Attorney’s Association. He was first appointed as St. Clair County State’s Attorney in 2010.

Kelly is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and St. Louis University Law School. He is a U.S. Navy veteran. Kelly, 39, is married to Joanne Kelly, an oncology nurse and bone marrow transplant coordinator at St. Louis University Hospital. The couple has two sons.

Kelly will serve a one-year term until December 2016 as present of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 9:07 AM with the headline "St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly takes helm at Illinois prosecutors association."