A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

McHENRY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY ARRESTED ON FEDERAL CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION CHARGES

ROCKFORD — A McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy was arrested today and charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and producing child pornography by the sexual exploitation of a child. The defendant, Gregory M. Pyle, 36, of Crest Hills, Ill., formerly of Crystal Lake, Ill., was charged in a criminal complaint.

Greg Pyle

According to court documents, an individual under investigation for child pornography identified the user names of other individuals with whom he had traded child pornography over the internet.

Pyle was allegedly identified as the person using two of those user names. The complaint alleges that Pyle transmitted sexually explicit images via the internet under those user names, including depictions of a minor child.

During a later interview, the minor stated that Pyle had sexually abused him on multiple occasions, including on a trip to Wisconsin.

The complaint alleges that in December 2008 Pyle traveled to Wisconsin with the child, then 10 years of age, with the intent to engage in a sexual act with the child, and to produce child pornography that was then transmitted via the internet.

Pyle appeared before U.S. Magistrate P. Michael Mahoney in U.S. District court and was ordered to remain in federal custody without bond pending a detention hearing at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 17, 2012.

The charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Illinois State Police and the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce assisted in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Love.

Crossing a state line to engage in a sexual act with a minor under 12 carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison, and sexual exploitation of a child under 12 years of age for the purpose of producing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison, and both counts carry a $250,000 maximum fine. If convicted, the actual sentence will be determined by a United States District Court Judge, guided by the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that a complaint contains only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to indictment by a grand jury and a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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You can read the details of the FBI’s Criminal Complaint here.

Read all the articles about McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren’s assistant Greg Pyle here.