CHICAGO — A Naperville man was arrested today on a federal child pornography charge for allegedly enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself.
JEREMIAH HARRIS, 21, contacted the underage boy on a social media application and repeatedly enticed him to produce sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself and send them to Harris, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The minor victim informed Harris during their initial online encounter that he was 13 years old, the complaint states.
The complaint charges Harris with one count of producing child pornography. He was arrested this morning and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance today at 2:00 p.m. CDT before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago.
The complaint was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The investigation was conducted by the FBI Chicago Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Chicago Police Department. The Crystal Lake Police Department and FBI Waco, Texas, Resident Agency provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente.
Production of child pornography is punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The federal investigation remains ongoing. If you believe that you or someone you know was a victim of sexual exploitation by Jeremiah Harris, you are encouraged to call the FBI Chicago Field Office at (312) 421-6700.