Belleville man charged with 4 counts of producing, distributing child pornography

A Belleville man has been charged federally with producing and distributing child pornography.

Zachary Dennert, 19, is accused of coercing two minors, including one under the age of 12 years old, to produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct, according to charges filed in the federal court for the Southern District of Illinois.

The alleged offenses occurred between January and August 2020. The four-count federal indictment further alleges Dennert transported images of a third minor victim in August 2020 and distributed an image of child pornography over the internet in September 2020.

On May 26, Dennert appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Mark A. Beatty and entered a not guilty plea. He is being held in custody pending a detention hearing next week.

Conviction on each count of producing child pornography is punishable by at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.

For the other charges, Dennert faces a possible penalty of 5 to 20 years’ imprisonment, if he is convicted. All four counts are also punishable by a fine of up to $250,000.

The case is being investigated by O’Fallon Police Department and United States Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandria Burns is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 4:26 PM.