New child sex charges against former McHenry deputy have potential severe penalties

New child sex charges against former McHenry deputy have potential severe penalties


By Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune reporter



August 17, 2012



A former McHenry County sheriff's sergeant accused of child sex crimes faces a detention hearing in Rockford on Friday that could mark the beginning of a long stay behind bars.



Gregory Pyle, 36, of Crest Hill, formerly of Crystal Lake, faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of federal charges that he transported a minor across state lines to sexually abuse the child and created child pornography.



Before the new charges were filed Tuesday, Pyle, a former Internet sex crimes investigator for the sheriff's office, had been freed on bond after he was accused by county authorities in January of predatory criminal sexual assault against a juvenile. He pleaded not guilty in that case.



Sheriff Keith Nygren's office had placed Pyle on paid administrative leave after the initial charges, but he used up his sick days and vacation time and was taken off the payroll Tuesday, the same day the federal charges were filed, said Deputy County Administrator Jon Labaj.



The federal investigation of Pyle arose independent of and long before the state charges, court records show.



According to a sworn statement from an FBI agent, during an investigation of online child pornography in August 2010, federal investigators executed a search warrant on a home in St. Anne. The person living there admitted trading child pornography over the Internet and the next month identified two screen names that were later traced to Pyle, according to court documents.



The informant also exchanged text messages with someone using a phone number that was found to belong to Pyle, and investigators confiscated images of a man sexually assaulting the victim with a Doubletree Hotel menu in the picture, authorities said.



When investigators interviewed the boy, he said Pyle had sexually abused him on multiple occasions since he was 8, including on overnight hotel trips to Wisconsin in December 2008 when the child was 10. Doubletree Hotel records in Brookfield, Wis., showed a room rented at that time under the name Gregory Pyle who was accompanied by a child, the complaint stated. The child also told investigators that Pyle produced child pornography that was later transmitted over the Internet.



All the charges involve the same victim, though Justice Department spokesman Randall Samborn said that investigations of such cases typically remain open.



Pyle's defense attorney in state court, Jack Donahue, said Pyle has a reputable background as an Army veteran, former member of the sheriff's SWAT team and a graduate of Joliet Catholic Academy and Marquette University.



"We were very surprised by the nature of these allegations," Donahue said.



In addition to federal penalties, the state charges against Pyle carry penalties of six years for each of 10 counts, or a potential total of 60 years.



rmccoppin@tribune.com





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