Prosecutor: Mt. Morris man’s addiction to viewing images of child sexual abuse ‘escalated’ before arrest

OREGON – A Mt. Morris man’s addiction to viewing images of child sexual abuse constitutes a threat to the community and he should remain in jail as his case moves through the court system, an Ogle County judge ruled Wednesday.

Christopher J. Kaepplinger, 54, asked Judge Clayton Lindsey to release him from custody in order to retrieve personal items from his apartment at 302 1/2 E. Lincoln St.

Kaepplinger was taken into custody Oct. 31 after Ogle County sheriff’s detectives and officers with the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigations searched his apartment and found images of children under the age of 13 being sexually abused, according to court documents.

Kaepplinger was charged Nov. 1 with six counts of possessing images of child sexual abuse, all Class 2 felonies that – if convicted – carry a maximum jail term of 3-7 years. According to court documents, Kaepplinger is accused of possessing photos on his cell phone of children in sexual poses.

In each of Kaepplinger’s three court appearances since his arrest, judges denied his request for release.

On Wednesday, Assistant Public Defender Michael O’Brien again addressed his client’s continued detention.

“He [Kaepplinger] is unsure of his current living conditions,” O’Brien said, referring to the apartment in Mt. Morris and a possible eviction and potential loss of personal identification documents. “All will likely be lost if he is continued to be held. He believes it is imminent.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse said Kaepplinger was too much of a threat to be released.

She said Kaepplinger told police he had been battling his addiction “since he was little.” She said police were led to Kaepplinger after receiving “cyber tips” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She said a phone registered to Kaepplinger had been used to upload images of children being sexually abused.

“He also told them that he knew this day would come,” said Kruse, referring to when police searched Kaepplinger’s home and arrested him. “He admitted the photos were his.”

Kruse said Kaepplinger had used “young slut” as an internet search to find images of children being sexually exploited. And, she said, Kaepplinger had pretended to be a little girl in one of the chat rooms he visited.

Prosecutors say Kaepplinger had also recently worked for a school, had left that job, but was actively seeking new jobs at schools based on internet searches.

“His behavior is escalating,” Kruse said. “Now, he is looking for employment at schools.”

O’Brien argued that certain conditions – including electronic monitoring – could be placed on Kaepplinger if he were to be released.

He said the court could set conditions on Kaepplinger’s release, including restricting him from certain websites, banning him from any internet access, ordering him to have no contact with minors, and wearing an electronic monitoring device.

“All those things would address the type of crime this individual is accused of,” O’Brien argued. “It would mitigate the risk.”

Kruse disagreed. “We do believe he should remain in custody,” Kruse said, adding that the threat to the community should outweigh Kaepplinger’s request for release.

Lindsey agreed with Kruse that Kaepplinger would create a “danger to the community as a whole” if he were to be released from custody at this time, regardless of any pre-trial release conditions set by the court.

Kaepplinger’s next hearing is 1:30 p.m. Dec. 4.