DeKalb man sentenced to 25 years in prison for uploading child porn to Tumblr, manufacturing explosives

Brenton Strobert, of DeKalb, pleads guilty to five felony counts of child pornography after 2019 bomb squad found explosives popular with terror groups

SYCAMORE - A DeKalb man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to uploading child pornography to the social media website Tumblr and manufacturing explosives related to a 2019 arrest.

Brenton Strobert, 28, of the 1100 block of West Lincoln Highway was sentenced Wednesday by DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Robbin Stuckert after pleading guilty to five Class 2 felony counts of child pornography. Strobert also will be required to register as a sex offender.

Strobert also pleaded guilty to unlawful use of weapons after a 2019 search by DeKalb police unearthed thousands of images of child pornography at his Lincoln Tower apartment, and a nearby storage unit, along with several explosives which were later detonated by police in a controlled setting.

For the weapons charge conviction, Strobert was sentenced to five years in prison to be served concurrently with his other sentence.

History of convictions

It is the second time Strobert has faced child pornography charges; he was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with a 2014 case in DeKalb County, court records show, and was out of jail at the time of his 2019 arrest.

In a statement, DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato thanked Illinois Attorney General, who’s office has a specialized unit which investigates child pornography cases and works with local agencies to coordinate warrant searches and prosecutions.

“My thanks to Attorney General Raoul and his staff for their assistance in prosecuting child pornography cases,” Amato said. “Clearly the defendant is an extremely dangerous person not only to our community but to children everywhere. Child pornography is not a victimless crime. Each time child sex abuse material is viewed, the child is victimized again. We will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases to ensure justice for the victims of this disgusting and unconscionable crime.”

In 2014, Strobert was charged with child pornography after police said he borrowed someone’s laptop and used it to upload sexual images, some of children younger than 13, records show. He told police at the time that he had a problem with attraction to children since he was 15 or 16. He was sentenced to three years in prison by Stuckert in February 2015, and is listed on the Illinois sex offender registry as a sexual predator.

As part of his Wednesday plea on the 2019 charges, which also involved children younger than 13, Strobert will have to register again.

Explosive past

The guilty pleas Wednesday come nearly two years after an in-depth investigation conducted by local, state and federal agencies which led to a raid of Strobert’s home and unearthed the pornography, which investigators said they were able to track when Strobert uploaded images to the social media website Tumblr.

The Attorney General’s office prosecuted the case in coordination with Amato’s office through investigations led by the DeKalb Police Department.

“Child pornography exploits children in unimaginable ways and leaves victims and their families with lifelong scars,” Raoul said in a statement. “I appreciate the support of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s office and will continue to partner with state’s attorneys and local law enforcement to protect communities from offenders who commit these horrific crimes.”

Strobert was arrested Oct. 9, 2019 after police executed a search warrant of his apartment at Lincoln Tower and storage unit in the 200 block of Harvestore Drive in DeKalb.

Police discovered thousands of child pornography images, involving children under 13 on electronic equipment, along with a substance later determined to be ammonium nitrate, and other precursors to make a triacetate triperoxide, or TATP explosive – the same material used in terrorist bombing attacks by groups such as ISIS.

They also uncovered more than 20 cut pipes, unknown chemicals and other materials, and more than 20 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition.

The discovery led to several days where loud booms, later confirmed to be the explosive material being safely detonated by the Kane County Bomb Squad, could be heard throughout DeKalb.

The Kane County Bomb Squad determined that the material was in an energetic state and not safe to move or store, according to a news release from the DeKalb police department at the time, and was instead detonated.

A robot and X-ray machine were used to inspect the contents of the storage unit.

At the time, DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Montgomery held Strobert on a $100,000 bond. When the pornography charges first came down, Montgomery had initially ordered Strobert released on his signature and that he be placed on electronic home monitoring but, in court days later on new weapons charges after explosives were found, it was revealed that Strobert had been in jail since because he was having difficulty finding a place to live.

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato had asked that the bond be increased to $500,000.

Strobert had also been connected to several investigations that week in October of 2019 involving the DeKalb Police and Fire Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the bomb squad.

Prosecutors including Bureau Chief David Haslett of the Attorney General Office’s High Tech Crimes Bureau and Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Schwertley of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office worked with investigators to prosecute the case.

In a statement, DeKalb Police Cmdr. Bob Redel, who oversees the department’s investigations unit, heralded the coordinated efforts by area agencies.

“This is a great example of federal and local law enforcement agencies working together to make our communities safer,” Redel said. “This sentence ensures that Brenton Strobert is held accountable for his crimes. I hope that this sentence will deter others from uploading, viewing or disseminating child pornography.”




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