O’Fallon man faces prison time for sharing child porn

A former O’Fallon man who also lived in Staunton has been convicted of knowingly receiving child pornography over the internet, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years.

Federal prosecutors say 42-year-old Christopher R. Buse offered child pornography files through a peer-to-peer file sharing application online from January to November 2016, according to a news release. Law enforcement officers traced the IP address to an address in O’Fallon where Buse was living at that time.

Buse moved to Staunton while investigators were preparing a federal search warrant. They say he continued to share child pornography from there, the news release stated.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois said on Thursday morning that Buse had pleaded guilty without a plea agreement. The prison sentence ranges from five to 20 years.

Sentencing is expected on Feb. 6 at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis.

This story was originally published November 1, 2018 at 9:54 AM.