Johnathan W. Pierce, Receiving Child Pornography, Illinois 2013

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Johnathan W. Pierce, 29, of Peoria, Ill., with eight counts of receiving child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Pierce was previously arrested on Aug. 8, 2013, and charged by complaint. U.S. Magistrate Judge John A. Gorman ordered that Pierce remain detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service; Washington Police Department; the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office; and, the Peoria Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk D. Schoenbein is prosecuting the case.

Pierce faces a statutory penalty of five to 10 years in prison if convicted of receiving child pornography, and up to 10 years in prison if convicted of possession of child pornography.

In a separate, unrelated case, Michael E. Ontiveros, 50, of Decatur, Ill., was charged with one count of possession of child pornography. Ontiveros was arrested and charged by complaint on Aug. 7, 2013. U.S. Magistrate judge David G. Bernthal ordered that Ontiveros remain detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The investigation in this case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; the Decatur Police Department; and, the Illinois Secretary of State. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Peirson is prosecuting the case.

Additionally, Jorge Muhedano-Hernandez, 29, of Bloomington, Ill., was charged with one count each of production of child pornography, illegal re-entry after removal from the United States, and possession of fraudulent identification documents. Two other defendants, Jorge Muhedano-Martinez, 54, and Maria Ignacia Antonio-Cruz, both of Bloomington, Ill., were charged with possession of fraudulent identification documents.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Illinois Secretary of State, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services assisted in the investigations.

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