By JOHN A. BALLENTINE
TOULON – A 19-year-old man was arrested at his rural Toulon home and charged with five Class X felony counts of child pornography distribution. Class X felonies are punishable for 30 years maximum prison terms on each count.
Matthew Shipp was taken into custody Nov. 15 by the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children, which is made up of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. According to Stark County Sheriff Steven Sloan the Stark County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Illinois State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and Geneseo Police Department made the arrest of Shipp, who was booked at the Stark County Sheriff’s Office.
At his arraignment, Shipp was found to have probable cause for his arrest and detained in Marshall County. Circuit Judge James A. Mack granted Shipp’s detention in Henry County Jail, in Cambridge.
Shipp was assigned Stark County Public Defender Robert M. McBride as his legal counsel. Special Prosecutor Shanti Kulkarni appeared via Zoom who is from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
He was scheduled for a preliminary hearing with McBride in Stark County Circuit Court on Nov. 17 and was transported to the courtroom from Henry County Jail, while Kulkarni appeared by Zoom.
Shipp waived the preliminary hearing and also waived a speedy trial. Mack set a scheduling conference for Dec. 1 and a March 4 trial date after Shipp pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the hearing it was announced that Shipp is seeking treatment and will not hire private counsel. Kulkarni requested to be allowed to monitor the Dec. 1 hearing on Zoom, but Mack denied that request.
“I want you to be present in court because Zoom isn’t always reliable and this is a case of serious allegations,” Mack said.
Shipp is being held in custody with no bail under the SAFE-T Act law. The state requested that Shipp be detained without release from custody and was granted that request according to his legal counselor Robert M. McBride.
