MACOUPIN COUNTY - Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said a Virden man was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison in Macoupin County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to disseminating child sexual abuse material and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, in a case Raoul described as part of ongoing efforts with federal and local law enforcement to apprehend offenders who download and trade such material online.
Jacob R. Rogers, 38, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of Class X felony dissemination of child pornography involving children under the age of 13 and two counts of Class 2 felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse, Raoul said.
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“I hope this sentence and our diligence in holding offenders accountable provides survivors of child exploitation additional support as they continue the healing process,” Raoul said. “My office will continue to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to protect Illinois children from the trauma of victimization.”
Raoul’s investigators, with assistance from the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office and the Virden Police Department, searched Rogers’ residence in April 2022 and arrested him after discovering evidence that he had shared child sexual abuse material, Raoul said.
Raoul’s office prosecuted the case with the Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison’s office.
“Protecting children against those who would harm them is our highest duty,” Garrison said. “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with Attorney General Raoul in this mission."
Raoul’s office said it runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The task force receives CyberTips, online reports of child sexual abuse material, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Raoul’s office said CyberTipline reports have steadily increased. In 2025, reports to the task force increased by 45% over 2024, according to Raoul’s office.
Illinois’ task force is one of 61 such task forces nationwide and includes more than 200 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies, Raoul’s office said. Since 2019, the task force has received more than 82,900 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 1,150 arrests of sexual predators, according to Raoul’s office. In 2025, the task force was involved in rescuing more than 30 child victims from ongoing abuse, the office said.
Deputy Bureau Chief Shantikumar Kulkarni prosecuted the case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes Bureau, the attorney general’s office said.
