A far north suburban Wadsworth man remains in custody Friday, accused of downloading nearly 200,000 files of child sexual abuse and sharing them through a ‘peer-to-peer network,’ officials announced.
Steven C. Kazmer, 74, was charged with eight counts of child pornography, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement. He was arrested Wednesday in the 4700 block of Pebble Beach Drive in Wadsworth.
An investigation was launched by the Lake County state’s attorney’s office, Woodstock Police and the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crime Against Children Task Force after the Lake County Cyber Crimes Lab received information that someone was downloading and sharing child abuse sexual material through a peer-to-peer network, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Following the execution of a search warrant, several electronic devices were recovered and the Illinois Attorney General’s Digital Forensics Team recovered numerous child sexual abuse material files that were believed to have been deleted.
“There is no higher priority in this office than finding, prosecuting, and detaining those who exploit and hurt children,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart in the statement. “We will find these offenders, and they will be held accountable.”
Kazmer, who is in custody of the Lake County sheriff’s office, was ordered to remain in custody during a court hearing Thursday. His next court date was set for Aug. 5