Man Gets Jail Time For Bathroom Pics, Child Porn Charges

By Sam Borcia, the Lake & McHenry County Scanner:

A Crystal Lake man charged with possessing child pornography and taking photos of people in a public restroom has been sentenced to two months in jail.

Ryan W. Braswell, 36, of the 400 block of Berkshire Drive in Crystal Lake, was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and eight counts of unauthorized videotaping, a Class 4 felony.

A criminal complaint alleges that Braswell, who was arrested in December 2019, possessed two images of child pornography in March 2018.

The complaint also said that Braswell took photos and videos of people multiple times in restrooms.

The first offense was in April 2017 when Braswell video recorded a person using the bathroom in his home in the 400 block of Berkshire Drive in Crystal Lake, the complaint said.

The rest of the offenses occurred in March 2018 in a public restroom at the Mobil gas station, 250 North Route 31 in Crystal Lake.

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In those instances, Crystal Lake police detectives found images in Braswell’s possession of people using the restroom at the gas station, the complaint said.

On Friday, Braswell entered into a blind plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, a Class 3 felony, in exchange for all of his other charges being dismissed.

McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge sentenced Braswell to 56 days in the McHenry County Jail and two years of probation.

Braswell will also have to complete 200 hours of public service, undergo sex offender treatment and pay $5,164 in court fines and fees, court records show.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.