ROCKFORD – Citing “mental health issues” and the safety of the public, a federal judge ordered a former McHenry County sheriff’s sergeant accused of sexually abusing a young boy to remain in jail without bond.
Gregory M. Pyle, 36, waived a detention hearing Friday in front of U.S. Judge P. Michael Mahoney.
He also waived a preliminary hearing on whether there was probable cause to determine a crime had been committed.
Mahoney said Pyle’s residency is unclear because he is not allowed to live with his wife or children. The judge said there were no conditions of bond that would ensure both the safety of the community and that Pyle would come to court in the future.
Pyle has been in federal custody but housed in the Boone County Jail since his latest arrest Tuesday on federal charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and producing child pornography by sexual exploitation of a child.
In January, Pyle was arrested and charged in McHenry County court with 10 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. He posted $20,000 bond then and was released.
If convicted on the federal charges, Pyle could be sentenced to life in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Love declined to comment on what mental health issues Pyle may have, as did Pyle’s attorney, federal public defender Paul Gaziano.
Love said prosecutors have 30 days to seek an indictment and he expects the case to be presented to a grand jury before the next scheduled court date Sept. 6. Pyle could be arraigned then.
Pyle, who had been head of the sheriff’s evidence division since June 2010, was relieved of his law enforcement duties and placed on administrative leave shortly after his first arrest.
Until Tuesday, he was still on the county’s payroll, being paid for accrued vacation and sick time, Sheriff Keith Nygren said. Those benefits ran out the day of his latest arrest, and he no longer is receiving his $85,800 annual salary, Nygren said.
According to the federal complaint, Pyle’s online user names were identified by another man who was under investigation for child pornography.
The boy depicted in the man’s files is related to Pyle. Authorities said the boy told the FBI that Pyle sexually abused him since he was about 8 years old and that most of the abuse occurred in Pyle’s Crystal Lake home.