McHenry man charged with child porn in 72-count complaint

A McHenry man facing 72 counts of child pornography and other related charges allegedly used a chatting app to groom an out-of-state 13-year-old, court records show.

Timothy Marcinko, 20, is accused of communicating with the child on an app called Discord, which allows users generally within the video gaming community to talk via voice or text, according to the app’s website.

Prosecutors allege the conversations occurred in June 2018, when Marcinko is accused of soliciting the child for sex acts, according to a 37-page criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court on Wednesday.

Officers also found several sexually explicit photos of the child in Marcinko’s possession, according to the complaint, which was obtained Friday. The FBI and Illinois Attorney General’s Office assisted with the investigation.

McHenry Police Public Affairs Officer Patrick Polidori declined to comment further on the investigation, citing “the sensitive nature of this case.” The child’s gender was not disclosed.

Officers arrested Marcinko, of the 6200 block of Longford Drive, on Thursday. Bond was set at $100,000, booking records showed, and he posted $10,000 Friday morning to bail out.

Marcinko is charged with possession of child pornography, indecent solicitation and grooming. If convicted of the most serious charge, indecent solicitation, he could be sentenced to between one and 15 years in prison.

He is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Tuesday.

The McHenry County Public Defender’s Office, which represents Marcinko, could not be reached for comment.