An Elmwood Park man arrested on child pornography charges in 2013 has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Jason Olson, 41, of the 2100 block of 73rd Avenue, Elmwood Park, recently reached a plea agreement with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Along with the prison sentence, after he’s released, he’ll have to register as a sex offender, police say.
He was originally charged in 2013 with both possession and distribution of child pornography. He pled guilty only to possession on Oct. 15, the same day he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Elmwood Park police Det. Mark Astrella said Olson’s arrest in January 2013 was the result of an undercover investigation. A search of Olson’s home allegedly recovered a computer that had numerous videos and pictures of children engaging in sexual acts.
After his arrest, his bond was set at $200,000. Astrella said Olson was able to make bail and had been living in Elmwood Park since then prior to making the plea agreement. He said there had been no other reported cases of wrongdoing by Olson since that time.
Astrella said the case was investigated in cooperation with the Cook County Internet Crimes Against Child Task Force, the Illinois Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Chicago Police Department, the Berwyn Police Department and the Bartlett Police Department.
Astrella said those involved the world of child pornography are often difficult to catch.
“You have to seek it out,” he said. “You just can’t Google this stuff.”
Twitter: @DavidDPollard