Crystal Lake man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

A 29-year-old Crystal Lake man on Friday was sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography.

Christopher Rivera, of the 700 block of Concord Drive, pleaded guilty Friday to a single county of possession of child pornography, punishable by as many as seven years in prison. In exchange for Rivera’s guilty plea, the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office agreed to dismiss several additional counts of possession of child pornography, court records show.

McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge accepted the plea and sentenced Rivera to four years in prison. He will receive credit for about 1 1/2 years already served at the county jail, court records show.

Rivera’s attorney from the McHenry County Public Defender’s Office declined to comment Monday.

The charges stemmed from a Crystal Lake police investigation that led officers to search Rivera’s home on July 24, according to a news release the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office sent Monday. He ultimately was charged with possessing multiple sexually explicit videos depicting children, court records show.

When questioned, Rivera admitted to possessing child pornography, according to the release.

Rivera also was sentenced in an unrelated case to two years in prison for stealing a credit card from a Crystal Lake church parking lot, court records show. He was accused in that case of making several purchases from restaurants, a grocery store and a Crystal Lake vape shop, according to a 2019 indictment.