Two Kane County men face dozens of child pornography charges after statewide investigation

Two Kane County men face dozens of felony charges involving possession and dissemination of child pornography after a joint investigation of the unrelated cases by county and statewide police agencies.

The arrests were announced Friday by the Kane County sheriff’s and state’s attorney’s offices.

David P. Winecke, 66, of the 1200 block of Hazelwood Court, Batavia, is charged with three counts of reproducing child pornography and 15 counts of possession of child pornography. The victim was younger than 13, police said.

Shawn W. Healy, 42, of the first block of Bowgren Drive, Elburn, is charged with soliciting child pornography along with three counts of reproducing child pornography, disseminating child pornography and 16 counts of possession of child pornography.

Both men allegedly reproduced and possessed multiple videos and images of child pornography prior to Dec. 20, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser and Sheriff Ron Hain said in a joint news release.

The Indiana State Police assisted in Healy’s investigation.

Kane County Judge Julia Yetter set Healy’s bail at $250,000. Healy would need to post 10% of that, or $25,000, to be released from jail. If he posts bond, he was ordered to have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with anyone younger than 18, the release states.

Healy also must surrender his passport, any firearms, ammunition and his Firearm Owners Identification card, and is prohibited from using Internet file-sharing applications. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 11.

Yetter set Winecke’s bail at $100,000. He would need to post 10% of that, or $10,000 to be released from jail. If Winecke posts bond, he cannot have unsupervised contact with anyone younger than 18 years old, according to the release.

He also must surrender his passport, all firearms, ammunition and Firearm Owners Identification card, and is prohibited from using Internet chat rooms and file-sharing applications. Yetter’s next court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 5.

The cases are unrelated, though both were investigated and charged as a result of a collaboration between the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Child Exploitation Unit, according to police.

Both men were served at their homes with search warrants following investigations that also involved the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the Internet Crimes Against Children’s Task Force.

“People who view child pornography are not committing a victimless crime,” Mosser said in the release. “They are encouraging child abuse, as well as the continued victimization of the children depicted in the images and videos. We will devote the necessary resources to appropriately prosecute these criminals.”

Hain said the investigation of the cases has been a top priority for his office over the past four years.

“We are proud to partner with Kane County State’s Attorney Mosser’s team to bring these offenders to swift justice,” he said in the release. “Bottom line, if you choose to engage in crimes that exploit and damage children in Kane, expect to live in my jail.”