Former Animal Control Worker Charged With Child Porn Now Free On $100K Bond

A former Will County Animal Control worker charged with possessing child pornography dodged a trip to the county jail by posting $100,000 bond.

Mark Hnat, 33, had to come up with $10,000 cash and did so Thursday to remain a free man. Hnat is scheduled to appear in court next month to answer three felony counts of possessing child pornography.

Hnat’s mother posted his bail for him at the Lockport Police Department, according to court records.

On August 25, police armed with a search warrant hit Hnat’s Woodhill Court home. Police said they found “titles consistent with child pornography” on a desktop computer in the basement of the residence but the actual files were missing.

One of Hnat’s coworkers from animal control happened to show up, police said. She was reportedly checking on his whereabouts. The animal control employee told police that Hnat had a laptop issued by the agency that he brought back and forth to work.

An investigator headed over to animal control and seized the laptop so it could be searched. Police believed Hnat may have transferred the files from the desktop computer to the laptop.

Hnat was not charged until three months after his home was searched. According to a criminal complaint, he possessed three child pornography videos on the day of the raid. The videos were allegedly on a computer hard drive.

Messages left with Will County Animal Control were not returned.