Justice Finally Comes

This is the post I promised. The case saddens me, while at the same time I was excited. One reason I was excited is because justice was administered by the federal district court where I live. Another reason is that is shows that in some cases, federal investigators turn over every rock to find evidence, and sniff out every witness, even if it takes years — in this case, 4 years.

In August 2010, a search warrant was executed for a home located in Saint Anne, Illinois. The person (who investigators called “A”) admitted that he viewed and traded child pornography over the internet. He used various methods to trade the pornography, including P2P networks, Yahoo Messenger, and Skype. In September 2010 during a follow-up interview, the person identified the user names of individuals in whom he had traded child pornography.

Two usernames were for one individual who was identified as Greg Pyle. Greg Pyle sent child pornography to “A”. Greg told “A” that a boy in the porn photos and videos was a relative. “A’s” hard drive was examined and investigators found that Greg Pyle also exchanged child pornography with others on the internet. Google cooperated in the investigation to verify information. Oops!!

So, who is Greg Pyle? Why is he any different from any other person charged with child pornography?

Greg Pyle

Greg Pyle was a member of the Illinois Chapter of the ICAC, (Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force). The task force is a subset of The Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice. Pyle was a member as part of his job as a Sergeant with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department. Pyle was to investigate and bring those guilty of exploiting children to justice. He was suppose to protect children and educate the public on how to protect children when using the internet.

 

Pyle was also a member of the Sheriff’s S.W.A.T. team.

In January 2012, Pyle was charged on the state level with 10 counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault. He is currently out on a $20,000 bond while that case is pending. It was because of those charges that Pyle was removed from the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force and was placed on administrative leave. The 10 count charge can be read here.

Pyle also crossed the state line to engage in a sexual act with a minor, and that opened him up for federal prosecution. The feds proceeded with the case.  In January 2012, investigators interviewed a boy who told them Pyle had abused him from at least age 8 to age 10, at Pyle’s home and at a hotel in Wisconsin in 2008.

On August 14, 2012, federal prosecutors filed charges against Pyle. The charge, that alleges crimes dating back to 2006, can be read here, but be forewarned that some of it is very explicit. The federal investigator dug back to calendar year 2006 and presents what the pornography shows.

Pyle was indicted on charges of crossing a state line with intent to engage in a sexual act with a person who had not attained the age of 12 years, and transportation of a minor in interstate commerce to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce a video, both in violation of Title 18 of federal statute.

In January 2014, former McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Greg Pyle plead guilty to the federal charges. He was sentenced this week.

The plea agreement includes;

“Specifically, defendant admits that on December 13, 2008, he had custody of Child A and knew that Child A had not attained the age of 12 years. On that date, the defendant drove Child A from Crystal Lake, Illinois to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The purposes for the defendant’s transportation of Child A to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, included the defendant’s intention to engage in sexual acts with Child A and to produce visual depictions of such acts. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the defendant and Child A stayed overnight in a hotel associated with a national hotel chain. Further, while in the hotel, the defendant engaged in sexual acts with Child A that were sadistic, masochistic, and violent. The defendant produced images of Child A engaged in these sexual acts and later distributed the images over the Internet.”

At his sentence hearing, the victim’s mother took the stand and said her son, who Pyle crossed the state line to victimize, is angry and depressed and has been hospitalized twice because of suicidal thoughts. Listening to her speak, Pyle began to cry.

Pyle was looking at a sentence of life in prison, with a minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years. At his sentence hearing, Pyle tearfully stated that he “couldn’t be more sorry for my actions. I hope that one day I’ll be free again.”

His defense attorney, in seeking the minimum sentence, pointed to Pyle’s background in law enforcement and the military. He cited a letter from 2002, written by a military superior who described Pyle’s “good character.” That did not impress U.S. District court judge Frederick J. Kapala.

Federal district court Judge Kapala called Pyle’s actions “heinous and despicable.” Judge Kapala stated that the fact that Pyle was working in law enforcement during the time he was abusing the boy speaks to the need for a severe sentence.

“He took a young, helpless child,” who should have been able trust Pyle and “he perverted the entire situation,” said Judge Kapala. Judge Kapala sentenced Pyle to 50 years.

In ruling on Pyle’s sentencing, Judge Kapala pointed to an interview that Pyle gave to a social worker after his arrest, which he reportedly said he feared he would abuse another boy if he had not been caught. Pyle “went undetected for a long period of time. There is no reason to believe he would have stopped had he not been caught,” said Judge Kapala.

Thank you, Judge Kapala.  He gets it.  He understands that people who obtain positions that they use to betray public trust, should not get just a slap on the wrist.

Pyle still faces state charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault in McHenry County, with a potential penalty of up to 60 years in prison.

UPDATE:

Court records show that on October 21, 2014, Pyle was sentenced to 45 years in prison in the State’s case.