A McHenry man is accused of possessing more than 250 images of children being sexually abused, court records show.
Payton McIntosh, 20, is charged with 10 Class X felony counts of dissemination of child sexual abuse material, according to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office and the criminal complaint in McHenry County court.
He was detained pretrial in McHenry County jail, according to an order signed by Judge Cynthia Lamb.
During his first court hearing, prosecutors said investigators found more than 250 images and videos of child sex abuse on McIntosh’s cellphone, with additional images allegedly found in McIntosh’s personal Telegram account. Investigators determined images were disseminated by him to other users on Jan. 24, according to a news release from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
In her order detaining McIntosh, Lamb wrote: “These actions reveal an appetite for the illegal production and consumption of this material and supports the market for this material.”
The judge also said McIntosh watched a TikTok short video that told him “child sexual abuse material is wrong.” She said he also “confirmed with law enforcement that he knew child sexual abuse material is wrong.”
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office began investigating McIntosh after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Internet Crimes Against Children in December 2025, according to the release.
“The cybertip identified a file of suspected [child sexual abuse materials] being disseminated through a Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. account using their cloud-based storage server,” according to the prosecutors’ release. “Investigative efforts connected the Synchronoss Technologies account to McIntosh’s phone number. Upon executing a search warrant on McIntosh’s residence ... detectives seized his cell phone. Digital examiners from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office assisted by conducting a forensic investigation.”
In the release, McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese thanked all involved in the investigation.
“Internet predators once believed a screen name was a shield, but in the age of digital footprints and advanced cyber-tracking, every click leaves a trail, our law enforcement partners are only a warrant away from identifying these offenders. And once caught, our office intends on holding each one of these predators accountable,” Freese said.
McIntosh, who is being represented by an attorney from the public defender’s office, is due back in court March 4.