Waukegan man faces new child pornography charges after cyber tip leads to arrest
LAKE COUNTY, Ill. - A Waukegan man previously charged with sexual abuse is now facing child pornography charges after investigators uncovered explicit material on his electronic devices, authorities said.
Pictured is Jose Paz-Hernandez, 22, of Waukegan. (Lake County State's Attorney)
Jose Paz-Hernandez, 22, was arrested Thursday on charges of possessing and manufacturing child pornography, according to the Lake County State's Attorney’s Office.
His arrest follows a cyber tip that child pornography was being uploaded to an online cloud storage from his home in the 3000 block of Kathe Lane, Waukegan, according to investigators.
Lake County K9s Grip and Tera assisted in searching his home and locating the electronic devices, authorities said.
Lake County K9s Grip and Tera assisted in searching his home and locating the electronic devices, authorities said.
Paz-Hernandez's devices were seized, and the state's attorney's office's cyber lab found several files of child sexual abuse material on his computer and in an online storage account during an analysis of the devices, authorities said.
The state’s attorney’s office approved 10 counts of child pornography (Class 2 felony) against Paz-Hernandez and filed a petition to detain him pending the disposition of the case.
Paz-Hernandez may face additional charges pending the completion of the forensic analysis.
Authorities said when Paz-Hernandez was taken into custody, he was recently charged in two separate cases with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony. He was released on pretrial conditions after a judge denied the state’s petition to detain him on Dec. 12.
On Friday, the state filed a petition to detain Paz-Hernandez pending the disposition of this case and moved to revoke his pretrial release in the other two cases.
Paz-Hernandez was initially scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing Friday, but the hearing was rescheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23.