Hudson Man, Former Jail Supervisor, Held Without Bond in Child Abuse Material Case

A 56-year-old Hudson man who once supervised the control room at the McLean County Detention Facility is now sitting in a jail cell two counties away, held without bond on charges that he possessed child sexual abuse material. Trent W. Arbuckle was arrested Monday afternoon after state investigators searched his home, and a judge ordered him detained pending trial the very next day.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office filed two counts against Arbuckle, both involving material depicting a victim under 13, according to WEEK | 25 News Now. Investigators with the attorney general's office executed the search warrant at approximately 2:40 p.m. Monday at Arbuckle's residence in the 300 block of North West Street in Hudson, a small village roughly 10 miles north of Bloomington-Normal, according to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. Raoul said the allegations are particularly troubling given Arbuckle's background in law enforcement, per the station's report.

Arbuckle worked as a civilian jail control room supervisor and control operator at the McLean County Detention Facility starting in 2023, after previously serving as a sworn correctional officer at the same facility, according to WGLT. That shift from sworn officer to civilian staffer means he still held operational access inside the jail up until his arrest this week.

Booked at His Own Jail, Then Moved

Arbuckle was initially booked at the very detention facility where he worked before being transferred to the neighboring Champaign County Jail, a move meant to prevent internal conflicts of interest, as reported by Cities 929. Cross-county custody transfers like this are standard practice when an accused person works inside the very facility that would otherwise house them.

McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane placed Arbuckle on administrative leave following the arrest and announced that his office intends to seek Arbuckle's termination, the outlet notes. The Mclean County Sheriff's Office assisted attorney general's investigators during the search of Arbuckle's home, and Bloomington police also assisted in the case, per 25 News Now.

Detained Without Bond Ahead of September Hearing

During a detention hearing the following day in McLean County Circuit Court, Judge William Yoder ordered that Arbuckle remain detained without bond pending his next court appearance, set for September 4. As of the station's initial report, 25 News Now said it was still awaiting a response from the sheriff's office regarding the full details of Arbuckle's employment history.

Both charges against Arbuckle are Class 2 felonies. Under Illinois law, 720 ILCS 5/11-20.1, possession of child sexual abuse material involving a victim under 13 carries a sentence of three to seven years in prison per count, with fines up to $25,000, according to legal guidance published by the Law Offices of Andrew M. Weisberg. Illinois updated its statutory language in 2023 to replace historical references to “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material,” reflecting that minors cannot legally consent to sexual acts, even though the legal citations retain their traditional statutory numbers.

How the Investigation Reached Arbuckle

The case was investigated by the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which works with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on child exploitation cases. The task force operates under a U.S. Department of Justice grant managed by the attorney general's office and analyzes CyberTips routed through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, per the attorney general's office.

That pipeline is part of a much larger national enforcement effort. Across the country, the network of 61 federal and state ICAC task forces conducted nearly 347,000 investigations in 2025, resulting in more than 17,000 arrests, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

State authorities have publicized reporting channels following Arbuckle's arrest, directing tips through CyberTipline.com and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, while also pointing to counseling resources available through the Children's Advocacy Centers of Illinois, WGLT reported. Open questions remain about the exact scope of digital evidence recovered in the search and whether any local victims or jail hardware were affected by Arbuckle's alleged conduct, questions likely to surface as the case moves toward its September court date.