Illinois Man Charged With Producing Child Sex Abuse Material Receives 60-Year Sentence Following HSI Chicago Investigation

ROCKFORD, Ill. — A Rockford man was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison July 31 for producing child sexual abuse material after a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago investigation.

U.S. District Court Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed the sentence on Gary Wilson, 53, and ordered that it be followed by a lifetime of court-supervised release.

“HSI condemns in the strongest terms the reprehensible actions of individuals who exploit online gaming platforms to prey on innocent children,” said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Sean Fitzgerald. “This case is a stark reminder of the urgent need for vigilance and robust law enforcement efforts. Our commitment to safeguarding our youth remains unwavering, and we will relentlessly pursue justice against those who perpetrate such atrocious crimes.”

“Few crimes are as grave as preying upon a vulnerable population and memorializing the sexual abuse of minors,” Deputy Criminal Division Chief Jessica S. Maveus argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Had defendant not been caught by investigating agents (and a minor’s parent), defendant would have continued in his pursuit to sexually exploit minors for his own sexual gratification.”

Wilson admitted in a plea agreement that between 2016 and 2019, he solicited numerous minor boys online through gaming systems such as Xbox and PlayStation, social media applications and text messages to produce sexually exploitive images and videos for Wilson’s sexual gratification. Wilson, who had previously been convicted of a sex offense, groomed his victims, gaining their trust through conversations during video games. Eventually Wilson coerced and enticed the children into sending him sexually exploitive images and videos in exchange for gaming codes and money.

The sentence was announced by Fitzgerald, FBI Chicago acting Special Agent in Charge Lucas Rothaar and acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Morris Pasqual. The Rockford Police Department assisted in the investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Together with partners in law enforcement, state and local government, international counterparts, and nongovernmental organizations, the HSI workforce does heroic work to prevent these crimes, support those who are impacted by them, and hold perpetrators accountable.

HSI offers multiple options for virtual and in-person trainings to educate the public about the growing threats children and teens face online.

Learn more about HSI Chicago’s mission to eradicate child exploitation on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSIChicago.