Crystal Lake man pleads guilty to secretly filming child in bathroom

A Crystal Lake man who was accused of secretly filming a girl in the bathroom of her home entered a guilty plea in the case Tuesday.

Christopher Hopp, 41, waived his rights to a trial and pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing 50 to 200 grams of psilocybin, a Class 1 felony, and unauthorized video recording, a Class 4 felony.

Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Marek said all parties agreed that the maximum sentence Hopp will receive is 12 years in prison. Judge Mark Gerhardt accepted Hopp’s plea and set July 31 for his sentencing.

In exchange for the guilty plea, other charges were dropped, including two counts of creating images of child sex abuse, which were a more serious Class X felony. Also dismissed were two counts of possessing images of child sex abuse.

Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Miller said at an earlier hearing following Hopp’s arrest in 2023 that Hopp was seen on a video “propping” up a recording device that looked like a pen, which secretly captured images of an unclothed minor. He was accused of recording the child undressing without the child knowing it and then reproducing and creating a video file of it on a computer, prosecutors and documents in McHenry County court said.

The child has since died, court records indicate.

Other charges dismissed include unlawfully possessing a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, a Taurus PT22 pistol, a Remington long rifle, a Ruger Security-Six revolver, ammunition and shotgun shells, according to documents.

Hopp was initially charged in the drug and gun offenses with his wife, Corinne E. Breskovich, 43. On April 3, 2024, Breskovich pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver 50 to 200 grams of psilocybin and was sentenced to two years probation, records in her file said. The remaining charges were dismissed, records show.

In October 2022, the couple bought the Huntley Dairy Mart on Route 47, a popular local gathering place for families since the 1950s, according to state and county records. The mart closed and was sold shortly after the couple was charged and today has new owners. The charges against the couple had nothing to do with the mart, authorities have said.

The charges were filed after the child found a small surveillance camera that looked like a pen propped on top of a few actual pens, Miller said Hopp is seen in at least two recordings propping the device up, Miller said.

The minor spoke with Crystal Lake police the same day. The next day, police searched the home, found the recordings and then found the mushrooms, firearms, a scale and almost $3,000 in cash, Miller said.

Had the case gone to trial, Hopp’s defense could have been that he did not put the recording device in the bathroom with intent to create images depicting child sexual abuse. Rather the recordings were made “out of concern for [the girl’s] safety,” according to a motion filed by Hopp’s defense seeking to enter the child’s personal health information as evidence at trial. The motion was initially set to be argued Tuesday, records show.

If the case had gone to trial and Hopp had been convicted on the most serious Class X felonies, he could have faced 30 years in prison or, if the judge found he was eligible for extended sentencing, up to 60 years.