An Oregon man charged with possessing images of child abuse – including those involving infants and toddlers – will remain in custody at the Ogle County Jail as his case proceeds through the court system.

Giuseppe Venezia, 31, was denied pretrial release by Ogle County Judge Russell Crull following a Monday afternoon detention hearing.

“These are heinous allegations at this point,” Crull said in denying Venezia’s release.

According to court records, Venezia is accused of possessing videos that show acts of sexual abuse involving children under the age of 13 that occurred from July 7 to 13, 2025.

He was arrested after officers from the Illinois State Police and Oregon Police Department searched his home, located in the 400 block of South 10th Street, on May 14. He was charged May 15 with 10 felony counts of possessing child abuse materials.

The charges were announced in a news release issued by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who said the investigation was part of ongoing work between federal and local law enforcement officials throughout Illinois to apprehend offenders who download and trade child sexual abuse material online.

During Monday’s hearing, Assistant Illinois Attorney General Clarissa Palermo said videos on Venezia’s phone showed infants and toddlers being sexually abused.

“These are toddlers and infants, most under the age of 4,” Palermo said when arguing for Venezia to be denied pretrial release. “There are more than 150 moving images.”

Palermo said Venezio’s home was located within 500 feet of an elementary school. The Oregon school campus, which includes the Oregon Elementary School, is bordered on the east by South 10th Street.

She also said investigators had recently discovered photos on Venezia’s phone of a young girl walking past Venezia’s Oregon home and a photo of a local high school volleyball team that had been digitally altered.

“There was a photo of a local girls volleyball team that had been digitally altered to make them appear nude,” said Palermo. “This is not an isolated incident. He poses a real and present threat to the community and children.”

As of Monday, no additional charges pertaining to those photos had been filed.

Venezia’s attorney, Eric Arnquist of Rochelle, said Venezia had no previous criminal record, had tested low on a pretrial risk assessment, and could be released from custody with special conditions such as home confinement, GPS monitoring, and no internet access.

“These are very serious allegations...atrocious,” said Arnquist. “But there is still a lot of investigation to happen.”

Arnquist said the photo of the young girl walking past Venezia’s home could have been captured from a security camera and the ages of the volleyball players was not yet known.

He said Venezio was willing to adhere to any conditions ordered by the court, including staying with his parents rather than at his own home if he were to be released.

Palermo countered that the children depicted in the videos were victims, even though they may not be locally known.

“These are not victimless crimes. Every time someone views these images someone had to be harmed to make these videos,” she said. “If people like the defendant didn’t consume these images they [children] would not be harmed.”

Palmero said forbidding Venezia to avoid the internet would not be a realistic condition. “The internet is everywhere,” she said.

She said the photo of the local volleyball team was taken from social media and then digitally manipulated to make the players appear nude.

“These are local victims he is doing this to too. And this was done without their knowledge or consent,” Palermo said.

Crull noted that investigators said Venezia’s home had “unsanitary conditions” with “no running water.”

He said he did not believe any conditions could be ordered by the court to protect the public if Venezia were to be released. He said Palermo’s claim that a photo of a young girl walking past Venezia’s home was also found on his phone weighed in his decision to deny pretrial release.

“The court believes there is a real and present threat. There’s the digital alteration to the sports team to make them appear to be nude,” Crull said. “The problem is that the internet is so pervasive now. It cannot be monitored properly.

“These are helpless children. These things would not occur if there wasn’t a market,” Crull said.

Venezia’s next court appearance is 10 a.m. May 27. He was remanded to the Ogle County Jail.

Each of the charges are Class 2 felonies, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

In his news release, Raoul said his Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigates child exploitation crimes, trains local law enforcement agencies, and is one of 61 ICAC task forces throughout the country that is composed of a network of more than 200 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

The task force receives cybertips, or online reports of child sexual abuse material, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

He reminded the public that child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com and child abuse at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov. In addition, local child advocacy centers can be found at childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org.