A 23-year-old Orion man plead guilty to two counts of Possession of Child Pornography on April 20, 2023, after a search warrant of his residence in December 2021 yielded evidence of Possession and Dissemination of Child Pornography. Frank Laughner plead guilty to Counts 3 and 4 for Possession of Child Pornography, which are Class 2 Felonies. A class 2 Felony has a potential of 3-7 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, Mandatory Supervised Release of 3 years to Life, but Probation of Conditional Discharge are possible as well. A Sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 6, 2023, at 10:30 AM. Laughner was originally charged with two counts of Dissemination of Child Pornography (Class X Felony) and seven counts of Possession of Child Pornography (Class 2 Felony). If a sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections is given, the terms are mandatory consecutive sentences.
The Illinois State Police obtained a search warrant for the residence of Frank Laughner after receiving three cyber tips for potential child pornography. On December 1, 2021, ISP Investigators, Illinois State Attorney General’s High-Tech Crimes Bureau, QC Metropolitan Enforcement Group, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, Geneseo Police Department and the Colona Police Department executed a search warrant at Laughner’s residence in Orion and seized evidence supporting his arrest. Laughner confessed to Possession of Child Pornography to investigators following his arrest. Laughner was transported to the Henry County Jail and held on a $300,000 (10%) bond. Bond was posted on December 2nd and Laughner was released.
