Child pornography charges laid against B.C. high school teacher https://t.co/2n1eSXvZR3
State trooper, a youth hockey referee, arrested on federal child porn charges https://t.co/5Uz4VE3RIw
An Illinois State Police trooper faces charges of distributing and possessing child pornography, according to federal court documents filed Thursday. https://t.co/6tSidJbUr4
Federal prosecutors have charged Illinois State Police Trooper Colin Gruenke, 38, with one count each of distribution and possession of child pornography. Homeland Security agents arrested Gruenke on Wednesday while he was on duty at the agency’s Des Plaines headquarters and later unsealed the criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Chicago. According to the filing, the investigation began in September 2024 when the social-media service Kik alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to uploads of child-sex-abuse material tied to an account linked to Gruenke’s home internet service. A search of the trooper’s iPhone and a flash drive seized from his Deerfield residence uncovered roughly 200 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, some appearing to be younger than 10, investigators said. Gruenke, who has worked for the state police since 2019 and has also served as a youth hockey referee, has been placed on administrative leave without pay. He remains in federal custody ahead of a detention hearing scheduled for Monday, while the Illinois State Police conduct a parallel internal investigation.
