Former Illinois city clerk convicted of child porn

A former city clerk in a small northern Illinois community faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison after being found guilty of one count of possession of child pornography.

Andrew Wells was found guilty of the one count last week by McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge after a one-week bench trial. Coppedge also found the 57-year-old Wells not guilty on two other child pornography counts.

Wells was the city clerk for Harvard when the discovery of a flash drive containing pornographic images in a desk at an amusement park where he also worked led to his 2016 arrest. He finished his term that ran through 2017 but did not run for re-election. 

During the trial, according to the (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald, no evidence was presented that Wells searched for or downloaded the images of underage girls but Coppedge said he could not understand how Wells could have not noticed the files with obvious pornographic names.

"How is it possible the defendant would not have explored what materials were being added to the USB? ," the judge asked before finding Wells guilty of the single count of possession of child pornography. Wells is scheduled to return to court for sentencing Jan. 24 on the felony count. The judge can impose a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison.

Wells does not have a listed telephone number and could not be reached for comment.