In a blow against the vile trade of child exploitation, Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office has seen through the prosecution of a Jersey County man who dealt in horrors. Joshua G. Eastham, 38, from the small town of Jerseyville, has been cast into the cell block for 40 years for the reprehensible crime of disseminating child pornography, the Illinois Attorney General's office reported.
Found guilty of four Class X felony counts, Eastham's victims were all under the tender age of 13. In delivering the justice that the community and the victims demanded, Jersey County Circuit Court Judge Allison Lorton sealed Eastham's fate. Having welcomed collaborations with federal and local law enforcement, Attorney General Raoul savors the victory, securing one more predator off the streets, declaring, "Child survivors are revictimized each time one of these heinous videos or images are shared or downloaded."
The dragnet that ensnared Eastham drew tight after a CyberTip flagged through the messaging app Kik led detectives to his doorstep. With the U.S. Marshals at their side, Raoul's team executed a search on January 27, 2022, that dawned the end of Eastham's sinister pursuits. The subsequent day saw his capture, leading to a trial that exposed and upended his dark dealings.
In a relentless push to scourge the scourge of child pornography from the digital and real world, Raoul's office, bolstered by the U.S. Department of Justice pioneers the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Facing an alarming 26% increase in CyberTips in 2022 over the previous year, their labor has yielded more than 620 arrests of sexual predators through tethers of investigation. According to the Illinois Attorney General's office, since 2006, the task force's dragnet has brought over 2,010 sexual predators to justice.
As this case closes, the Attorney General remains vigilant, reminding the public that the specter of online child sexual exploitation can be reported at www.cybertipline.com. For allegations of abuse, one can turn to dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov. A network of local child advocacy centers also stands ready to help and can be found at www.childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org. With unwavering commitment, Raoul and his battalion of justice seek to ensure that the web of the internet does not become a spider's lair, catching the innocent in its silk.
