ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL OBTAINS 24-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR MORGAN COUNTY MAN WHO DISSEMINATED CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL OBTAINS 24-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR MORGAN COUNTY MAN WHO DISSEMINATED CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL

January 27, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced that a South Jacksonville, Illinois man pleaded guilty to disseminating child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to prison. 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 material online.

Gary Steininger, 50, was sentenced to 24 years in prison by Morgan County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Reif. Steininger pleaded guilty to two Class X felony counts of dissemination of child pornography involving children under the age of 13.

"Survivors of child abuse and exploitation are revictimized every time an individual downloads or trades one of these horrific images," Raoul said. "My office's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force works tirelessly to hold accountable individuals who exploit children. We will continue to partner with local law enforcement to identify and prosecute these offenders."

Raoul's investigators, with the assistance of the South Jacksonville Police Department, searched Steininger's residence in May 2025 and arrested him after discovering evidence that he had shared 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 2025, reports to the ICAC Task Force increased by 45% over 2024.

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 76,500 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 1,800 arrests of sexual predators. Since 2006, the Attorney General's ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 2,500 arrests of sexual predators. In 2025, the task force was involved in rescuing more than 30 child victims from ongoing abuse. The task force also has provided internet safety training and education to over 1 million parents, teachers, students and more than 25,000 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.

Deputy Bureau Chief Shantikumar Kulkarni prosecuted the case for Raoul's High Tech Crimes Bureau.