A man from the Quad Cities area was ordered detained Monday while he awaits trial for surreptitiously videotaping minors in Marseilles. Jackson Yeager could face up to 150 years in prison.

Yeager, 34, of Colona, appeared Monday in La Salle County Circuit Court and was presented with 10 felony charges.

He would face six to 30 years in prison if convicted of possession of child sex abuse materials, a Class X felony. He is charged with five such counts and, under the law, would be required to serve any resulting prison terms back-to-back.

Yeager is also charged with five counts of unlawful videotaping, a Class 3 felony carrying two to five years.

In open court, assistant La Salle County state’s attorney Laura Hall said an investigation was launched Feb. 2 after a teenager discovered a hidden camera behind a bathroom mirror as they were preparing to shower.

La Salle County Sheriff’s Office dispatched investigators who seized a memory card. The card contained multiple nude images of minors as well as images of Yeager as he, according to court records, adjusted the angle of the camera.

When questioned by police, Yeager gave incriminating statements but also told authorities he was trying to monitor the welfare of a visiting child. Hall called that “implausible” and asked a judge to deny Yeager any form of pre-trial release.

“This man breached a trust,” Hall said, adding later, “The defendant didn’t have a reason to put a covert camera in the bathroom.”

Public Defender Ryan Hamer said Yeager was a good candidate for pre-trial release, as Yeager has no previous criminal history and scored a one on a 14-point risk assessment. As Colona is more than an hour’s drive from Marseilles, Hamer argued, a simple no-contact order would provide a buffer between Yeager and the minors.

La Salle County Circuit Judge Michelle A. Vescogni concluded that prosecutors met their burden of showing that Yeager presented a risk to specific individuals and/or society at large.

“That’s not a plausible explanation for why this was done,” the judge ruled, rejecting Yeager’s contention that the camera was installed to ensure the visitor’s safety. She added later, “Placing this defendant on GPS monitoring and telling him to stay away is not enough.”

Yeager’s detention entitles him to a speedy trial within 90 days. A grand jury will hear his case Tuesday and Yeager will next appear Feb. 20 for arraignment.