Bond set at $150,000 for former high school coach facing child porn charges

Bond was set at $150,000 Thursday for a former Naperville North High School assistant boys basketball coach accused of possessing child pornography.

Jelani McClain, 23, of the 4700 block of Lake Trails Drive, Lisle, has been charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

Through the course of their continuing efforts into child pornography, Naperville police received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an IP address possibly engaging in child pornography.

Based upon this information, police obtained a search warrant for McClain’s home, which was executed on May 12. A search of McClain’s electronic storage allegedly yielded several images and videos of child pornography. McClain, who was at home during the search, was immediately taken into custody without incident, the release stated.

“As I have said many times in the past, child pornography is not a victimless crime,” DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office Robert Berlin said in a statement. “Each one of these disgusting images represents yet another victim of child pornography. The charges filed against Mr. McClain today sends the message that my office will aggressively pursue child pornographers. I would like to note that these charges are in no way connected with Mr. McClain’s association with Naperville North High School. Authorities at the school have been very cooperative throughout this entire case and for that I thank them.”

“This department will continue to aggressively investigate any reports or instances of crimes against children because to keep kids safe, offenders must be brought to justice,” Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said in a statement. “In this instance, it was the possession of child pornography, which is a very serious crime. I applaud the efforts of the investigators that were able to put together this case and bring the charges against the defendant. Additionally, I would like to thank the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.”

“The safety and security of students, staff, and our community is of the utmost importance,” Dan Bridges, superintendent of Naperville Community Unit School District 203, said in a statement. “We are grateful for our partnership with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Naperville Police Department. We are cooperating fully with the investigation.”

The investigation into McClain’s online activity continues. Anyone having information about or contact with McClain is asked to call Detective Theresa Stock of the Naperville Police Department at 630-305-5968.

McClain’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 10 for arraignment.