Metro-east man faces multiple child porn charges after task force investigation

A Randolph County man was charged with multiple felonies for possessing and reproducing child sexual abuse material in St. Clair County Circuit Court Thursday.

Cameron D. Gasser, 20, of Coulterville, faces four counts of reproducing child sexual abuse material, all Class X felonies, and six counts of possessing child abuse material, all Class 2 felonies.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced the charges Wednesday. A news release said his investigators and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department officers searched Gasser’s place of employment in Belleville. He was then arrested “based on evidence of child sexual abuse material.”

If convicted, Gasser’s Class X felonies can each carry up to 30 years in prison and his Class 2 felonies can each carry up to seven. He is being held at the St. Clair County Jail, according to the release.

Assistant Attorney General Jenifer Peck is prosecuting the case, the release says. Online court records do not name a defense attorney.

The case is part of the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, an effort by the attorney general’s office and more than 200 law enforcement agencies to investigate child exploitation crimes and train law enforcement, the release said. The task force is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The public can submit tips to the taskforce via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s report.cybertip.org website and report suspected child abuse through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ Online Reporting System, the release states.

For more resources regarding child abuse, visit the Children’s Advocacy Center of Illinois.