Prosecutor: Wonder Lake man had ‘tens of thousands’ of child sex abuse images

A Wonder Lake man is facing 20 counts each of reproducing and possessing images of child sexual abuse, although a prosecutor said in a Friday news release that there were “tens of thousands” of images found by detectives.

David R. Glass, 57, is charged with 10 Class X felony counts of reproduction or sale of images depicting children younger than 13 being sexually abused and 10 counts of possessing such images, according to the criminal complaint in McHenry County court.

He was arrested Thursday after a joint investigation by Woodstock police, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb wrote in the release.

Judge Carl Metz, who presided over Glass’s initial court appearance Friday, called what Glass is accused of possessing “absolutely disgusting and horrible.” Metz denied the petition for pretrial release and ordered Glass to be detained in the county jail.

Assistant State’s Attorney Julio Cantre said Glass made admissions to detectives that he possessed the images, some involving toddlers. Cantre said Glass is a “real and present threat to any child.” During the investigation, the prosecutor said, detectives found 10 computers, dozens of hard drives and hundreds of discs that detectives still are going through. Cantre also said home confinement would not keep the community safe and that with Glass’s “level of sophistication and knowledge” of computers and the “sheer volume” of images found, nothing short of detention would stop him from engaging in sharing or receiving such images.

Cantre said one detective involved in the case characterized what was allegedly found in Glass’s possession as “‘amongst the most severe child pornography I have [seen] in my entire career.’”

Assistant Public Defender David Giesinger argued that Glass has “a lack of criminal history” and there are conditions that would keep children safe should he be released. He also said there are no allegations that Glass approached any children and recommended that he be released and put on home confinement and wear a GPS and electronic monitoring device. Giesinger also said Glass could undergo a sex offender evaluation, and court service could monitor his home to ensure he has no access to the internet.

According to the release, authorities learned in June that Glass was actively sharing child sexual abuse materials online. An investigation of those allegations led to authorities obtaining a search warrant, which was then executed on Glass’s residence, where computer hardware was seized, officials said. Sexual abuse materials were found on that computer, according to the release.

Glass initially was believed to be a Woodstock resident when the investigation began, Lieb said.

The Woodstock Police Department received investigative assistance from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division and K-9 assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office during execution of the search warrant, according to the release.

Glass is due back in court Sept. 10.