URBANA, Ill. - A grand jury today indicted an Urbana, Illinois, man, John Schreyer, 47, of the 300 block of Spring Circle, for allegedly transporting and possessing of child pornography between June and December 2021.
The indictment alleges that Schreyer transported visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on June 14, 2021, and possessed child pornography on Dec. 16, 2021. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Schreyer used an Internet-based peer-to-peer network to traffic videos of prepubescent children engaged in sex acts with adult men.
Schreyer was arrested in Urbana on Dec. 16, 2021, and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long for a detention hearing on Dec. 21, 2021, at which the judge ordered that he be detained. Schreyer has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.
If covicted, the offense of transportation of child pornography carries a statutory penalty of at least five years to a maximum of 20 years in prison; for possession of child pornography, the penalty is up to 10 years in prison.
Agencies participating in the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Springfield Office and the Urbana Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson is representing the government in the prosecution.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), to marshal federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
