An Edgewater man who is a caseworker for the state Department of Human Services had almost 400 photos and videos of child pornography on a computer drive when police searched his apartment this week, prosecutors said.
George Alfred Schneider, 43, turned himself in Thursday after police on Wednesday executed a search warrant at his apartment in the 5200 block of North Sheridan Road, according to police. He’s charged with dissemination and possession of child pornography.
Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. ordered Schneider held in lieu of $500,000 bail in a hearing midday Friday.
“Sir, I think you are a threat to children,” the judge said.
Schneider is a caseworker for the state Department of Human Services, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Holly Grosshans and state records. Schneider’s attorney said he also has worked as a security guard. State records show he makes about $54,000 a year and has worked for the department since at least 2014.
The job at DHS does not include any in-person contact with clients, according to a DHS spokeswoman.
“Mr. Schneider’s caseworker position requires working from a call center where he has no in-person contact with customers,” said Meghan Powers, a spokeswoman for the department, in an emailed statement. “IDHS is aware of the situation and is handling it in accordance with the law.”
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The investigation into Schneider began when detectives from the police Internet Crimes Against Children task force were looking into peer-to-peer file sharing services and they saw Schneider’s computer was making what appeared to be child pornography files available, Grosshans said. Detectives began investigating Schneider and were able to download more than 300 child pornography photos and videos from his computer between January and July, prosecutors said.
On Wednesday, detectives executed a search warrant at Schneider’s apartment and seized a computer, hard drive, multiple USB drives, two books on computer hacking and proof that Schneider lived there, prosecutors said. Analysis of the drive found 301 child porn images and 88 child porn videos on it, including 72 images or videos detectives had already download through Schneider’s peer-to-peer account.
The investigation determined that Schneider had distributed movies and pictures of underage children engaging in sex acts, police said. The pictures and videos included numerous pornographic images of children, including children subject to bestiality, masochism and sadomasochism, prosecutors said. Schneider was arrested on Thursday.
Records from ComCast showed that Schneider was the internet subscriber whose computer was the source of all the videos detectives downloaded between Jan. 19 and April 12m when a subpoena for the ComCast’s records was issued, prosecutors said. The modem in Schneider’s apartment matched the MAC address from which all the porn was uploaded.
While they were working the case, police found out that Schneider is a Human Services caseworker, and on Friday, detectives informed the Illinois Inspector General’s office about Schnider’s arrest, prosecutors said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The baiduhai’s Steve Schmadeke contributed.