Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that a Roodhouse, Illinois man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material. 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.
Ethan T. Seaton, 20, was sentenced Tuesday by Greene County Circuit Court Judge Zachary Schmidt after previously pleading guilty to two counts of Class 2 felony possession of child pornography.
“This sentence sends the message that offenders who commit these horrific crimes will be held accountable,” Raoul said. “My office will continue to collaborate with law enforcement officers throughout the state to protect children from exploitation and secure justice for survivors.”
Raoul’s investigators, along with officers from the Roodhouse Police Department and the Illinois State Police South Central Illinois Drug Task Force conducted a search of Seaton’s residence in Roodhouse in September 2024. He was arrested after admitting to possessing child sexual abuse materials.
Raoul’s office prosecuted the case with the assistance of the Greene County state’s attorney’s office.
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 material, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Over the last several years, CyberTipline reports have steadily increased. In 2024, reports to the ICAC Task Force increased by 11% over 2023.
Illinois’ ICAC Task Force is one of 61 ICAC task forces throughout the country and is comprised of a network of more than 200 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Since 2019, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has received more than 60,000 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 1,000 arrests of sexual predators. Since 2006, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 2,400 arrests of sexual predators. In 2024, the task force was involved in rescuing more than 45 child victims from ongoing abuse. The task force also has provided internet safety training and education to tens of thousands of parents, teachers, students and law enforcement professionals.
Attorney General Raoul is reminding the public that child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com and child abuse at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov. In addition, local child advocacy centers can be found at childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org.
Assistant Attorneys General Katherine Hegarty and Courtney Lindbeck prosecuted the case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes Bureau.
