MT. VERNON — A 28-year-old Mt. Vernon man was sentenced Tuesday to 14-years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after he pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography.
Rashaad Edwards was arrested in March after an investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office led to his arrest.
According to Jefferson County Sheriff’s Detective Bobby Wallace, his department began conducting an investigation toward the end of January into a person from the area distributing child pornography.
Wallace says the investigation ultimately led to a search warrant being issued for Edwards’ residence and the search resulted in computer being located with files containing child pornography.
Edwards was arrested on five Class X felony charges distribution of child pornography and 20 Class 2 felony charges of possession of child pornography.
He pleaded guilty Tuesday to two of the Class X felony charges in exchange for the others being dismissed. He was sentenced to 7-years on each count to be served consecutively.
Edwards will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence and register upon his release as a sex offender.
He had been held in the Jefferson County Jail since his March arrest, with bail set at $500,000.
The investigation that led to his arrest was a joint operation between the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.