'Thousands Of Images Of Child Pornography:' Lisle Man Charged

LISLE, IL — A Lisle man is accused of possessing "thousands" of images of child pornography and taking photos of middle school girls who waited to catch a bus outside his house. Charles Eastes, 67, of the 900 block of Lacey Avenue, was charged with child pornography and possession of child pornography following an investigation and a search warrant.

Police say they were tipped off to a potential child pornography case in late December by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Following an investigation, police executed a warrant on Jan. 8 to search Eastes's home.

Officers reported finding "images of child pornography on Eastes’ cell phone, desktop computer and iPad. Authorities allegedly also located numerous photos of middle school aged girls waiting at a bus stop located directly outside Eastes’ home taken by Eastes," according to a news release from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

Eastes was arrested after the search of his home and is being held in DuPage County Jail.

“Child pornography is not a victimless crime,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Berlin added, “Year after year, hundreds of thousands of images are downloaded and shared over the Internet with each image representing yet another innocent, young victim of child pornography. To protect these innocent victims, my office stands ready to vigorously prosecute any allegations of child pornography. What I find extremely disturbing in this case is the allegation that in addition to thousands of images of child pornography, Mr. Eastes also possessed numerous images that he took himself of neighborhood girls as they waited for the bus outside his residence."

Eastes is set to appear in court again on Feb. 24.