An Ogle County judge denied a rural Rochelle man’s request Wednesday, Dec. 17, to be released from jail as he faces charges of possessing and sharing images of child sexual abuse.

Matthew S. Robinson, 29, was sent back to the Ogle County Jail after making his first court appearance on charges of dissemination of images of child sexual abuse and possession with the intent to disseminate images of child sexual abuse - both Class X felonies – and possession of child sex abuse images, a Class 2 felony.

Assistant Ogle County State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten said Robinson possessed and shared the images through SnapChat between July 25 and Dec. 16. Leisten said the girls depicted were under the age of 13.

He also told Associate Circuit Judge Anthony Peska that Robinson’s criminal history included a prior adjudication for a similar offense when he was a juvenile in another county.

“Based on the type of images and his prior record, he should remain in custody,” Leisten told Peska.

Assistant Ogle County Public Defender Eric Morrow argued for Robinson’s release, telling Peska that Robinson was gainfully employed and had scored low on a pretrial risk assessment.

“He has no pending charges, no violent convictions. He has led a law-abiding life since the juvenile offense,” Morrow said, suggesting additional pretrial conditions be levied by the court, such as no contact with minor children, electronic monitoring, and forbidding the use of cell phones or computers.

“He could be released under very strict conditions,” Morrow argued.

Leisten argued that Robinson was listed as a sex offender after his juvenile charge was adjudicated.

Peska agreed, denying Robinson’s pretrial release.

Robinson was arrested Dec. 16 about 10:05 a.m. after Ogle County sheriff’s detectives executed a search warrant at a residence in the 10000 block of East South Woodlawn Road in rural Rochelle.

Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said in a news release that the arrests were made after a lengthy investigation. He said Ogle County detectives were assisted by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Peska allowed Robinson to be represented by Morrow at Wednesday’s hearing, but denied appointing that office for further hearings because Robinson earned too much at his current job.

Defendants can request to be represented by the public defender’s office, but they must fill out a financial affidavit that a judge then uses to determine whether they qualify for the free service.

Robinson’s next court appearance is a status hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 24.

Class X felonies are punishable by 6 to 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, with three years to natural life of mandatory supervised release. If convicted, defendants must serve 85% of their sentence and register as a sex offender upon their release.

Class 2 felonies are punishable by 3-7 years in prison with two years of mandatory supervised release to follow.