Peotone Man Charged with 19 Counts of Child Pornography

By Stephen Nelson

A Peotone man was arrested by Bourbonnais Police on Monday, January 9, and faces 19 counts of child pornography. If convicted, 35-year-old  Michael L. Mathis faces anywhere from six-to-30 years in prison for each count.

Fifteen of the 19 counts are for dissemination which are class X felonies, which are considered to be the worst in Illinois and, if guilty, will not get probation. Two counts were for possession of child pornography videos which are class 2 felonies. Another two counts were for possession of child pornography photos which are class 3 felonies. If convicted of all charges, Mathis faces up to 464 years in prison.

The incidents, according to the Kankakee County Prosecutor’s office, occurred between March and June of 2022.

Police in Bourbonnais executed the arrest because Mathis was living in Bourbonnais when the incidents happened. According to a Kankakee County States Attorney press release, the charges came a tip from an undercover detective in Boone, North Carolina who caught the activity in an online chat group. Another tip came from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and was forwarded to the Will County State’s Attonrey High Tech Crimes Unit.

Will County High Tech Crimes Unit INvestigators Megan Brooks and Dan Simneson along with the first ever in Illinois black Laborador named Cache, trined to detect hidden electronic devices used by suspects to hide child pornography.

All worked in collaboration with Kankakee County First States Attorney Carol Costello, Peotone Police Department Detective Gary Miller, Manteno Police Department Detective Sergeant Sean Prophet, and Bourbonnais Police Department Detectives Jonathan Boudreau and Jason Franc, along with other law enforcement agencies and investigators.

Mathis bond has been set at $1,000,000, with cash bail at $100,000. Mathis will be arraigned on January 23. A trial date has not been set.

Mathis was living in Peotone at the time of his arrest. He had been active in a local Facebook community group soliciting babysitters in previous years.