DEERFIELD, Ill. — An Illinois State trooper has been charged in federal court for alleged distribution and possession of child sex abuse material.
Colin Gruenke, 37, of Deerfield, is facing two federal counts of distributing child pornography and possessing child pornography.
Federal authorities searched his home on a warrant Wednesday following a months-long investigation that spawned from a tip from the messaging app Kik last September.
Gruenke allegedly used a VPN to conceal the online locations of where he uploaded child sex abuse material, documents state.
Kik responded to a warrant request in April and gave several chat logs, pictures and videos. Authorities allege at least 14 files contained child sex abuse material.
Court documents show chat logs allegedly between Gruenke and someone else that are extremely graphic and vile discussing child sex abuse.
Federal authorities determined that Gruenke was an active Illinois State Trooper during the course of the investigation. A federal agent was able to get him to admit he lived alone in his suspected residence by saying he was looking for a lost dog, documents state.
Documents state that detectives determined he has been involved in ice hockey as a referee. It’s unknown if Gruenke is currently involved in hockey.
A search warrant was conducted on his phone Wednesday at the Illinois State Police office in Des Plaines. Authorities allege that Gruenke had deleted files of child sex abuse material on his phone, which were recovered.
Another search was conducted at his home and authorities allege a flash drive was recovered in his nightstand drawer with around 200 videos of child sex abuse material.
Illinois State Police placed Gruenke on administrative leave without pay following the arrest.
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