A Frankfort man who was caught secretly taking intrusive videos of a young woman at a New Lenox Target was sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography.
Last week, Judge Dan Kennedy sentenced Aaron Bettenhausen, 43, to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing several memory cards in a coat pocket that contained pornographic images and videos of children.
Officers discovered Bettenhausen, a registered sex offender, was in possession of child pornography after investigating an incident where he was caught by an 18-year-old woman “taking a video recording of her undergarments” on July 14 at the 2370 E. Lincoln Highway Target, court records show.
The woman recorded his license plate number as he was fleeing Target.
Bettenhausen must serve 50% of his eight-year sentence and he was given credit for already serving 324 days in the Will County jail, which puts his actual sentence closer to three years.
After Bettenhausen’s release from prison, he must serve four more years on parole. His projected parole date is July 12, 2024, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
In a news release, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow called Bettenhausen’s conduct “morally repugnant.”
“Sadly, the reality with child pornography is that the victimization can continue long after a photograph or video is taken; images placed on the internet can never be fully erased or recovered, and they can be passed from person to person indefinitely,” Glasgow said.
Glasgow said he established a High Tech Crimes Unit in 2012 to “work with local police departments to track and arrest individuals who trade child pornography over the internet.”
On Oct. 29, 2014, Bettenhausen pleaded guilty to child pornography possession. He was sentenced to 48 months of probation and credited with 349 days already served in jail.
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