Jury finds Stillman Valley man guilty of possessing images of sexual abuse of children

OREGON – An Ogle County jury deliberated for three and a half hours Wednesday before finding a man guilty of possessing images of children being sexually abused.

Joshua Lake, 30, of Stillman Valley was indicted in May 2021 on 10 counts of possessing and disseminating photos and videos of the alleged abuses in November 2018.

Before the start of the two-day trial, prosecutors dismissed seven of the counts, including two dissemination charges that alleged he shared the images.

That left three Class 2 felonies that charged Lake with possessing videos of children – all younger than 13 – engaged in sexual acts with adults and other children.

Assistant State’s Attorney Allison Huntley told jurors that all of the videos were found through an investigation of Lake’s phone and a review of social media accounts.

“This is his phone,” Huntley said carrying a phone in a plastic evidence bag as she walked in front of the jurors’ box. “This phone has these disgusting images on it. We know this is his phone because his name is all over it. Those videos are his videos.”

William Schuck, Lake’s attorney, disagreed, arguing that the phone with the videos on it did not belong to his client.

“Anybody can set up a Facebook account,” Schuck argued. “That means nothing in determining whose phone it is. It’s easy to make a Facebook profile. There are no other identifying factors.”

Schuck said police took the phone in November 2018 and didn’t question Lake about it until February 2021. He claimed the phone belonged to Lake’s older brother who then left for Russia when charges were filed.

“The older brother left for Russia, to teach English with no degree,” Schuck told jurors. “Why would an American go to Russia in 2021? He had never been to college for teaching. He fled to Russia. He was fleeing because he was going to be prosecuted for child pornography, because that phone was his.”

Schuck said prosecutors had no physical evidence linking Lake to the phone. “There are no fingerprints or DNA evidence on the phone,” Schuck told jurors. “I’m not disputing that there are horrible images of child pornography. But there is not enough evidence to tie them to Joshua Lake.”

Huntley said Lake told Illinois State Police Sgt. Nathan Macklin that the phone belonged to him.

“He [Lake] told police it was his phone,” Huntley argued, claiming the state had proven that Lake had downloaded the videos to his phone in three different places.

But Schuck said there was no recording of that conversation presented as evidence. “That statement that police say he made was not recorded,” Schuck said. “There is no audio or visual recording so we don’t know what was said.”

Huntley countered that social media and email accounts had Lake’s initials and birth year as identifiers. “The defense wants you to believe there is a conspiracy against this man,” Huntley argued. “This is a court of law. There is no conspiracy.”

She said a lack of DNA evidence was irrelevant to the case because the state did not have to prove he viewed the videos. “We don’t have to prove he masturbated to it,” Huntley argued. “His name is on that phone. Use common sense and the evidence and find him guilty.”

Lake has been in and out of custody in the Ogle County Jail since his arrest and been represented by several different attorneys.

In March 2022, he was determined to be unfit by Judge John Redington and ordered to undergo treatment. He was declared fit in August 2022 after Redington reviewed a court-ordered evaluation. Lake then failed to appear for a court hearing in October 2022 and was arrested in July 2023. He was released on a cash bond but again failed to appear for a hearing. He was remanded to the Ogle County Jail in December 2023, where he was held until the trial began.

According to court records, he declined a plea agreement offered by the state on Aug. 14 on four counts, including one for dissemination of child pornography, a Class X felony.

At 4 p.m., one hour into their deliberations, jurors sent a note to Redington, the trial judge, inquiring about evidence. He responded that they should rely on evidence presented at the trial.

At 5:36 p.m., jurors sent another handwritten note that Redington read to the attorneys and Lake: “We have not yet reached a unanimous decision. Is there a time limit?”

Redington responded: “Please continue to deliberate. There is no set time limit for today.”

The seven-man, five-woman jury reached the verdict at 6:27 p.m., finding Lake guilty on all three counts. Each of the counts is punishable by three to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections with two years mandatory supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000.

Redington set Lake’s sentencing hearing for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 17, pending completion of a pre-sentence investigation, which is estimated to take six weeks.

Redington denied a defense motion asking Lake be released from custody prior to the sentencing hearing. He did approve Schuck’s request for a sex offender evaluation to be completed before the sentencing.