A 54-year-old Justice man was arrested June 9 and is charged with disseminating and possessing child sexual abuse material after a Cook County Sheriff’s Police investigation traced two social media accounts to him.
Daniel Gierut was ordered held in Cook County Jail custody following his initial appearance June 10 at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
The investigation began Jan. 2 when the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported a tip about a social media account uploading and sending sexually explicit images of children. Sheriff’s Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and Cyber Trafficking Unit detectives obtained search warrants, confirmed the images depicted child sexual abuse, and traced the account to Gierut, according to the sheriff.
On March 17, investigators arrested Gierut and found child sex abuse material on his cell phone. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to file charges at that time.
Investigators continued their work and discovered Gierut was connected to a second cybertip. A second social media account also contained child-abuse material and belonged to Gierut, according to the sheriff.
On June 9, investigators arrested Gierut at his home in the 7200 block of Skyline Drive in Justice. After being advised of his rights, Gierut admitted to possessing, disseminating and soliciting child sexual abuse material from other users, police said.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office charged him that day with dissemination of child sexual abuse material, a class X felony, and possession of child sexual abuse material, a class 2 felony.