Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced a Kankakee County man prosecuted by his office was sentenced to four years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material.
Wayne R. Hipple, 38, of Bourbonnais, Illinois, was sentenced on Wednesday by Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott after pleading guilty to one Class 2 felony count of possession of child pornography.
“Survivors of child abuse and exploitation are revictimized each and 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.”
Hipple 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 Bourbonnais Police Department, searched Hipple’s residence in September 2024 and arrested him after finding evidence of child sexual abuse material.
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 Shantikumar Kulkarni prosecuted the case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes Bureau.
