Crest Hill man arrested in Grundy County for possession of child pornography

GRUNDY COUNTY – A Crest Hill man was arrested in Grundy County for aggravated possession of child pornography after an investigation by the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office.

Joseph Mitchell Hoggard, 30, was arrested after police received a report of possession of possible child pornography from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office on Dec. 14, according to a news release.

Sheriff’s office detectives obtained a search warrant for the apartment in which Hoggard was living and conducted that search Feb. 9, police said. During the search, sheriff’s deputies and investigators found and seized evidence from devices containing known and suspected child pornography.

Detectives uncovered hundreds of images of known child pornography, police said.

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office said detectives conducted a lengthy investigation into the report. They executed search warrants on the internet accounts of Hoggard, a registered sex offender who at the time lived on Carper Road in Grundy County.

Police said Hoggard moved out of the home on Carper Road on Jan. 19 and registered as homeless.

Sheriff’s investigators monitored Hoggard’s movements and determined that he was living in an apartment in the 1700 block of Arbor Lane in Crest Hill, which was in violation of his sex offender registration status as homeless.

Police said Hoggard was arrested in 2013 while he was living in Tennessee and was charged with especially aggravated exploitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor. He was found guilty and incarcerated in a Tennessee prison until his release in February 2022.

Hoggard served 100% of his sentence. After his release from prison, Hoggard moved to Grundy County and registered as a sex offender with the sheriff’s office, police said.

Hoggard was arrested for aggravated possession of child pornography, possession of child pornography, dissemination of child pornography and the violation of his duty to register as a sex offender.

Hoggard is being held in the Grundy County Jail on a $100,000 bond.