Franklin Grove man, 34, charged with possession of child porn

Christopher M. Florence in May 2023

DIXON – A 34-year-old Franklin Grove man has been charged with five counts of possessing child pornography for having “numerous” images of children “he knew or reasonably should have known” were younger than 13.

Christopher M. Florence was arrested Thursday by the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation, according to a news release sent Friday.

Florence, who was freed Friday on a $25,000 recognizance bond, faces three to seven years in prison on each count. If convicted of two or more of the charges, the sentences must be served consecutively.

Members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Franklin Grove Police Department, interviewed Florence at his home Thursday and gathered evidence that led to his arrest, according to the release.

Charges were filed Friday in Lee County court.

According to the charging document, all of the images were of children who were “actually or by simulation” engaged in a sex act.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the investigation began in November after Special Agent Brad Bastion received several “cybertips” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

On July 2 and 3, both Google and Dropbox reported “numerous” images of child pornography being uploaded to accounts that belonged to Florence, the affidavit said.

The five charges are “a small sample” representative of those images, it said.

Florence has a preliminary hearing May 18. He has hired attorney Eric Arnquist of Tess, Crull & Arnquist of Rochelle.

Keeping kids safe online

Learn more about keeping kids safe online at https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/onlinesafe. Go to www.cybertipline.org to report online exploitation, and visit https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/csam-resources for resources for survivors of sexual abuse, according to the Illinois State Police.

Kathleen Schultz

Kathleen A. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz is a Sterling native with 40 years of reporting and editing experience in Arizona, California, Montana and Illinois.