Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced today that a McLean County man prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse images. The case is part of Raoul’s ongoing work, in collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies and local law enforcement officials throughout Illinois, to apprehend offenders who download and trade child sexual abuse images online.
Andrew F. Bachman, 34, of Normal, Illinois, was sentenced by McLean County Circuit Court Judge Jason Chambers after he pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of child pornography, Class 2 felonies. Bachman was immediately taken into custody to begin serving his 15-year sentence.
“This guilty plea and sentence will hold the offender accountable, preventing them from being able to exploit innocent minors who are victimized each and every time an image is downloaded, shared or viewed,” Raoul said. “I am proud of the work done by my office’s prosecutors and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that led to this outcome, and I am committed to protecting Illinois families from those who prey on children.”
The Attorney General’s office charged Backman in 2022 after Raoul’s investigators, with the assistance of the Normal Police Department, conducted a search of Bachman’s residence on Logan Drive in Normal and discovered evidence of child sexual abuse images.
Raoul’s office, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force that investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. The task force receives CyberTips, or online reports of child sexual abuse images, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Over the last several years, CyberTipline reports have steadily increased. In 2023, reports to the ICAC increased by 46% over 2022.
Illinois’ ICAC Task Force is one of 61 ICAC Task Forces throughout the country and is comprised of a network of more than 185 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Since 2019, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has received more than 46,150 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 755 arrests of sexual predators. Since 2006, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 2,145 arrests of sexual predators. The task force also has provided internet safety training and education to more than 1,024,000 parents, teachers and students, in addition to more than 24,300 law enforcement professionals.
Attorney General Raoul is reminding the public that child sexual exploitation can be reported online at www.cybertipline.com and child abuse at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov. In addition, local child advocacy centers can be found at www.childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org.
Assistant Attorney General Katherine C. Hegarty prosecuted this case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes Bureau.
