Suburban volleyball coach facing child porn charges appears in court

CAROL STREAM (Fox 32 News) - More information has surfaced on a volleyball coach from the western suburbs who is facing child pornography charges.

The charges come just days after cops arrested Michael Liedtke for allegedly hiding a camera in an athletic training center in Carol Stream.

The coach made his first appearance in court Thursday before a federal judge.

“Mike is doing the best that he can,” said defense attorney Kendall Hartsfield.

The west suburban volleyball coach is accused of planting a hidden camera in a washroom at the DuPage Training Academy. After he was arrested, federal prosecutors say child pornography was discovered on his cellphone.

“Obviously these are very difficult charges for anybody to be faced with. And he certainly understands the gravity of the situation,” Hartsfield said.

Earlier this week, FOX 32 talked with the woman who found the hidden camera, which led to Liedtke's first arrest.

“It just really hurt. I don't even have a kid there but it's just your privacy is invaded,” said Angelique Bennett.

Liedtke had posted $25,000-dollar bond after his previous arrest involving that camera, and he was out on bond when he was picked up again by the feds.

He's hoping that this time, he can be released with his parents promising to keep an eye on him.

“Michael is a genuinely nice guy. With respect to him as a person, he's been a member of the community for quite a while, he doesn't have any previous criminal history whatsoever, and taking all of the above into consideration, we're certainly going to everything we can to adequately and vigorously defend him against these charges,” Hartsfield said.

For now, he'll remain behind bars at least until next Thursday when he's back in court.