Virginia man guilty of producing sex abuse image of McHenry County teen, gets 11 years in prison

A Virginia man pleaded guilty Wednesday to creating video of child sex abuse involving a 14-year-old McHenry County girl and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Ali Vann, of Norfolk, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of producing an image of child sex abuse, a Class X felony, court records show. In exchange, 14 counts of the same charge and nine counts of soliciting images of child sex abuse were dismissed, according to Judge Tiffany Davis, who accepted the plea, and documents filed in McHenry County court.

Vann is required to serve half of his prison term. He will receive credit for 552 days spent in the county jail while awaiting trial, plus an additional 34 days, half a day for each day he spent in a self-improvement program. When released he will serve three years to life of mandatory supervised release. He also is ordered to register as a sex offender for life. Davis said he could later be deemed a dangerous or sexually deviant person, which would result in additional time in custody of the Department of Human Services. The judge also noted that Vann has no other prior criminal history.

Had Vann gone to trial and been convicted on each Class X charge, which each carry a prison term six to 30 years, he would have had to serve the time consecutively.

Davis asked Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Brodersen if the child and her family had been notified of the plea deal. Brodersen said her father was notified and he is “satisfied with this result.” Neither the girl nor her family were present in court and declined to provide an impact statement, he said.

Vann was arrested at his home in Virginia on Feb. 3, 2023, by Norfolk police on a McHenry County warrant, a spokesperson for the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said at the time.

Brodersen said from June 1 to Oct. 23, 2022, Vann “screen recorded” abusive video of the child, found on his Snapchat, knowing she was younger than 18.