Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced the conviction of a former Chicago suburban teacher and wrestling coach who pleaded guilty to the child pornography charges. The teacher-coach was indicted for downloading files related to child pornography in his laptop computer and was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison.
Max Estes, 27, was a former Plainfield North High School teacher, who pleaded guilty to the Class X felony charge of Dissemination of Aggravated Child Pornography and was sentenced to six years in prison on October 7, 2014.
The defendant was arrested in July of 2013, wherein he was previously the Plainfield North High School’s first-year business teacher, wrestling team’s coach, and also the faculty sponsor for the school’s yearbook. Despite the number of roles he takes part in, the defendant holds a non-tenured position in high school. District spokesman reported that the defendant had passed all background checks during the time he was hired. Following the arrest of Estes, the district spokesman confirmed that the defendant had resigned from his position in the high school.
Investigations made by the members of the Cook County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force revealed that the defendant had been actively searching for and downloading child pornography into his laptop computer. Prosecutors reported that law enforcers were able to successfully download and confiscate videos involving acts of sexual penetration and sadistic abuse in children under the age of 13. These confiscated files included both videos and still images downloaded into the defendant’s laptop computer.
The Chicago Police Department had executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on the 600 block of North Bishop Street in Chicago, where Estes’ laptop computer was recovered. A forensic examination revealed and confirmed the evidence of downloaded child pornography files in the defendant’s laptop computer. Estes was arrested the following day after the search warrant at his house.
Max Estes pleaded guilty to Class X felony charge of Dissemination of Aggravated Child Pornography and was sentenced by Cook County Judge Jorge Alonso to six-year imprisonment during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building on October of 2014. Furthermore, the defendant is obliged to register as a sex offender after his release from prison.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez commended Assistant State’s Attorney from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office – Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Division Elizabeth Ciaccia for her exemplary work on the case. State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez also thanked the Chicago Police Department for their collaborative work on the case.
Updated: September 8, 2020