WOOD RIVER - A registered sex offender from Wood River faces trial this month for several child pornography charges related to a series of offenses from April to June 2024.
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Timothy W. Walker, 56, of Wood River, was charged with 10 counts of child pornography, each Class X felonies.
The charges against Walker center around 10 image and video files, five of which were allegedly disseminated via BitTorrent from April 26 to June 28, 2024. Each file reportedly depicted victims under the age of 13.
According to a petition to deny his pretrial release, Walker is a registered sex offender who had previously been convicted in another child pornography case in Madison County from 2015, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Walker was discovered sharing child pornography during an investigation into BitTorrent conducted by Attorney General Investigator Amanda Wimmersberg. After connecting to a device whose IP address was associated with a Wood River residence, Wimmersberg was reportedly able to download “approximately 2,500 images or videos from the same device containing child sexual abuse material.”
After a search warrant was obtained, an individual was identified in connection with the IP address, but was later determined to be deceased. The remaining occupants of the Wood River residence associated with the IP address included Walker and another individual, who he reportedly admitted during an interview was innocent.
Madison County court records indicate Walker waived his right to a detention hearing, and he is currently being held in custody at the Madison County jail. His jury trial has been set for Aug. 12, 2024 at 1 p.m.
The issuance of charges is based solely upon probable cause and is not an indication of guilt. All subjects charged with criminal offenses are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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