77-year-old Algonquin man charged with 15 felonies over child abuse videos

Norman A. Franke, 77, is facing 15 felony charges in McHenry County after authorities accused him of possessing and sharing videos of children being sexually abused. The charges stem from a search of his Algonquin home conducted Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, Franke is charged with 12 counts of Class X felony possession and disseminating moving depictions of child sex abuse material. He also faces three counts of possession, which are Class 2 felonies. Police identified him after a suspect transmitted child sexual abuse material to an investigator with the Woodstock Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The investigation involved the Woodstock and Algonquin police departments, along with assistance from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office’s ESD K9 unit and the Illinois Attorney General’s task force. K9 Grip assisted during the operation. Franke was taken into custody at the McHenry County jail following the warrant execution.

Franke made a brief court appearance Wednesday. Judge Cynthia Lamb arraigned him after public defender Kim Messer requested more time to prepare. Franke filed paperwork to keep a public defender as his attorney but was denied based on his income. Lamb rescheduled his next appearance for Thursday.

In a request to detain Franke, Assistant State’s Attorney Henry Sugden argued that Franke poses a present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community. Prosecutors are expected to argue that he should be denied pretrial release on those grounds.