Registered sex offender in metro-east sentenced for child porn possession

A registered sex offender was sentenced this week to 20 years in prison for the child pornography found in his home in 2022.

Jamie Canter, 64, of Cahokia Heights, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography, Class 1 felonies, according to a news release from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

Raoul’s office led the investigation in collaboration with local and federal law enforcement agencies, the release states.

St. Clair County Associate Judge John O’Gara handed down the prison sentence on Monday, court records show.

When investigators searched Canter’s home in December 2022 before his arrest on the felony charges, he was on supervised release for a 2020 aggravated child pornography conviction, according to past BND reporting.

The U.S. Marshals, St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office and Cahokia Heights Police Department assisted Raoul’s investigators with the arrest.

The Attorney General’s Office runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“It is my hope that today’s sentence can help survivors and their families heal from the trauma they have experienced,” Raoul stated in the release. “My office will continue to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to protect Illinois children by identifying and holding offenders who prey on them accountable.”

Raoul noted that child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com and child abuse can be reported at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov.