Elgin man charged with possessing child abuse material, violating sex offender registry law

An Elgin man is again charged with felony possession of child sexual abuse materials, this time as a repeat offender, according to a July 14 news release from Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser and Sheriff Ron Hain.

Jerry W. Pendry Jr., 36, listed as homeless but residing in Elgin, is charged with three counts of possession of child abuse images involving a child under age 13 and with a prior conviction, a Class 1 felony, and two counts of failure to update sex offender registry information, a Class 3 felony, according to police and Kane County court records.

On Dec. 4, Pendry possessed “multiple videos” containing child sexual abuse material of a victim under 13 and “had full knowledge of the nature of the content,” according to the release.

Between May 12 and July 10, Pendry twice violated the Sex Offender Registration Act by failing to notify the proper agency that he was using instant messaging identities on the social media platforms Kik and Discord, according to the release.

Court records show Pendry was charged in 2018 with felony aggravated sexual abuse of a victim under 13 for crimes that occurred in 2011 and 2018. In a plea agreement, Pendry admitted guilt to misdemeanor battery charges and was sentenced to six months probation and a fine of $469.

In 2019, Pendry pleaded guilty to possession of child sex abuse material depicting someone younger than 13 and was sentenced to 23 days in jail, 24 months’ probation and $4,194 in fines, court records show.

Pendry was arrested on July 10 on a search warrant at an Elgin home.

Pendry’s most serious charge is a Class 3 felony, for which he could face up to five years in prison and fines up to $25,000, if convicted. Pendry is being detained in the Kane County jail while his case is pending. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 23.

The investigation was conducted by the Kane County Child Exploitation Unit, FBI, Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office and Elgin Police Department.