Macoupin County man pleads guilty to child pornography charges

Chester W. Adams

Macoupin State Attorney Jordan Garrison announced Apr. 3 that a former Nilwood man had pled guilt to four counts of child pornography, all class 2 felonies.

Chester W. Adams, 63, entered his plea in front of Judge Joshua A. Meyer.

Adams is being held at the Macoupin County Jail, where he has been since being charged on Jan. 6, 2023.

In October 2022, the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department received information that Adams had accessed child pornography over social media. Multiple search warrants were obtained by the Macoupin County Sheriff’s High Tech Crimes Bureau.

Mutiple electronic devices were seized upon investigation and Adams was found to have possessed multiple images of child pornography.

“This county will always aggressively pursue and prosecute child pornographers,” said Garrison. “We will not allow these criminals to hide behind a computer screen. I would like to thank the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office, former Det. Larry Rayburn and First Assistant State Attorney Kyle Frericks, for the efforts which led to this guilty plea.”

Adams faces up to 14 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 5.