A Plano man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for creating and distributing child pornography.
Keith Hirsch, 52, of the 3700 block of Pope Court, was charged with child pornography and criminal sexual abuse in June 2014 after Plano Police Department investigators were tipped off that the Plano man may have inappropriate and illegal photographs on his computer.
Hirsch was later convicted.
According to Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis, in February 2014 members of the Plano Police Department received information from members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force regarding a photograph they had seen on the Internet. The picture was of a very young child and an adult in a sexually explicit pose.
Weis said investigators were able to determine the origin of the photo and trace it to Hirsch. After speaking with Hirsch, investigators were able to identify the child in the photograph. They also learned that Hirsch had taken the photograph and shared that picture through the Internet, Weis said.
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Weis said Hirsch also admitted to having sexual contact with the child.
Based on this information, officers obtained Hirsch’s phone, external hard drive and personal computer, as well as other computer materials. The items were examined by a forensic investigator with the Illinois attorney general’s High Tech Crimes Bureau, and multiple illegal images were recovered.
Within a year of his arrest Hirsch was charged, convicted and sentenced.
Weis commended the coordinated efforts of the Plano Police Department, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the High Tech Crimes Bureau in the case.
Hirsch was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the child pornography conviction and three years in prison for the criminal sexual abuse.