Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced an Effingham man prosecuted by his office was sentenced to 20 years in prison for possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material.
Dallas Ray Campbell, 27, was sentenced on Thursday by Effingham County Circuit Court Judge Allan Lollie and after pleading guilty to one Class X felony count of dissemination of child pornography and three Class 2 felony counts of possession of child pornography.
“Survivors of child abuse and exploitation are revictimized every time an individual downloads or trades one of these horrific photos or videos,” Raoul said. “My office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force works tirelessly to identify and track down individuals who assault and exploit children. I will continue to partner with local law enforcement to locate and hold these offenders accountable.”
Campbell was prosecuted as part of Attorney General Raoul’s ongoing efforts to apprehend offenders who download and trade child sexual abuse material online. Raoul’s investigators, with the assistance of the Effingham Police Department, searched Campbell’s residence in October 2023 and arrested him after finding evidence of child sexual abuse material.
Attorney General Raoul’s office prosecuted the case with Effingham County State’s Attorney Aaron Jones’ office.
“This sentence will protect children from abuse and exploitation,” Jones said. “My office commends the hard work and diligence from law enforcement in investigating this case, in particular the Illinois Attorney General Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Effingham Police Department. We are also grateful for the continued commitment of the Attorney General’s office to investigate and prosecute cases involving child pornography.”
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 2023, reports to the ICAC increased by 46% over 2022.
Illinois’ ICAC Task Force is one of 61 ICAC task forces throughout the country and is comprised of a network of more than 185 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Since 2019, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has received more than 46,150 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 755 arrests of sexual predators. Since 2006, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 2,145 arrests of sexual predators. 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 Attorney General Katherine Hegarty prosecuted the case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes Bureau.
