Lisle man charged with possessing child sexual abuse images: prosecutors

A motion was granted Monday to detain pre-trial a Lisle man charged with possessing thousands of images of child pornography, prosecutors said.

Charles Eastes, 67, of the 900 block of Lacey Avenue, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography – victim under 13 and two counts of child pornography, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

On Dec. 24, Lisle police received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding possible child pornography in DuPage County. Through the course of their investigation, detectives were led to Eastes, according to the release.

On Jan. 8, police executed a search warrant at Eastes’ residence, which allegedly uncovered images of child pornography on Eastes’ cell phone, desktop computer and iPad. Authorities allegedly also located numerous photos of middle school-aged girls waiting at a bus stop located directly outside Eastes’ home taken by Eastes. Following the search, Eastes was arrested, according to the release.

“Child pornography is not a victimless crime,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Year after year, hundreds of thousands of images are downloaded and shared over the Internet with each image representing yet another innocent, young victim of child pornography. To protect these innocent victims, my office stands ready to vigorously prosecute any allegations of child pornography.

“What I find extremely disturbing in this case is the allegation that in addition to thousands of images of child pornography, Mr. Eastes also possessed numerous images that he took himself of neighborhood girls as they waited for the bus outside his residence.”

“These cases are challenging on even the most hardened investigators who are also parents and grandparents, and I sincerely appreciate DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and our detectives for the collaboration and hard work they put into this case,” Lisle Chief of Police James Kruger said in the release.

Eastes’ next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 24.