Southern Illinois jury convicts man on eight child pornography charges

A Perry County jury convicted a 42-year-old man Friday of possessing and reproducing child pornography, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office announced.

Timothy E. Hedrick, of Cutler was convicted of three counts of reproduction of child pornography and five counts of possession of child pornography, according to a news release.

Hedrick was remanded to the Perry County Jail. His sentencing is scheduled for March 13. A defense attorney listed in online Perry County records for Hedrick could not be reached for comment Friday.

Hedrick was arrested after investigators searched a Cutler home and found evidence of child pornography in which all of the children depicted were under 13.

Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office, with the assistance of the Perry County Drug Task Force – comprised of the Perry County Sheriff’s Office and the Du Quoin and Pinckneyville police departments – conducted a search.

“Child pornography leaves victims and their families with lifelong scars,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in the news release. “My office is committed to working with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and local law enforcement to track down individuals who perpetrate these horrible crimes and hold them accountable.”

The charges were filed in March 2021.

Assistant Attorneys General Shanti Kulkarni and Vanessa Minson prosecuted the case.

This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 4:14 PM.