Tiskilwa Man Released, Possession of Child Pornography Not a Detainable Offense

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The Tiskilwa man charged with public indecency and ten counts of Possession Child Pornography was released on Tuesday from the Henry County Jail because Possession of Child Pornography is not a detainable offense under the new SAFE-T Act laws.  State’s Attorney Cathy Runty said her office is not allowed to petition for pre-trial detention because possession of child pornography is not one of the detainable offenses under the new laws.  Daniel Carlson was initially given a Notice to Appear in court for Public Indecency after he exposed his himself to two female teenagers on September 18th.  After searching two of Carlson’s phones, detectives discovered several images of child pornography.  Carlson was arrested on October 6th and transported to the Henry County Jail for Possession of Child Pornography.  Carlson is charged with ten (10) counts of Possession of Child Pornography (Class 2 Felony) and Public Indecency/Lewd Exposure (Class A Misdemeanor).  Mr. Carlson is not allowed to have contact with any unrelated minors as part of his release conditions.  A Preliminary Hearing is scheduled for October 23, 2023, at 1 PM.

Senator Win Stoller told RegionalMediaNews:  “The state’s dangerous experiment to bring an end to cash bail under the SAFE-T Act has been flawed for several reasons from the very beginning. The fact that state’s attorneys and judges are limited and restricted in their ability to hold certain offenders in jail illustrates the many continued issues of this ill-conceived law. I fear this experiment will have dire consequences on the public and I continue to advocate for its repeal.”

Under the new laws in Illinois, forcible felonies are considered detainable.  The State’s Attorney’s Office is allowed to petition the court for pre-trial detention when the defendant is a threat to the victim or the public or is a flight risk.  Prosecutors can ask for electronic home monitoring for felony offenses that may not qualify for pre-trial detention.

The following is an exert from the Illinois General Assembly Statutes:

“the defendant is charged with a felony offense other than a forcible felony for which, based on the charge or the defendant’s criminal history, a sentence of imprisonment, without probation, periodic imprisonment or conditional discharge, is required by law upon conviction, and it is alleged that the defendant’s pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community, based on the specific articulable facts of the case;

the defendant’s pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community, based on the specific articulable facts of the case, and the defendant is charged with a forcible felony, which as used in this Section, means treason, first degree murder, second degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, armed robbery, aggravated robbery, robbery, burglary where there is use of force against another person, residential burglary, home invasion, vehicular invasion, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated kidnaping, kidnaping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement or any other felony which involves the threat of or infliction of great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement”

Charges regarding Aggravated Stalking, Violation of an Order of Protection, Domestic Battery and discharge of a firearm are also detainable if the defendant poses a risk to the victim or the public.

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