Former Illinois State Rep. Keith Farnham, 66, was the co-sponsor of two bills to increase the punishment for child pornography may soon regret the effort. He has been charged with child pornography crimes related to hundreds of images and videos on his personal and state-owned computers as well as graphic online chats. In one such chat, he allegedly wrote that “12 is about as old as i can handle . . . i love them at 6 7 8.” In another chat, he allegedly bragged about sexually molesting a 6-year-old girl. He is not charged with that rape. In the sick and bizarre world of child porn, such a claim may have been a form of bragging than a true admission of a rape. Farnham resigned from office shortly after his state office was raided. He said that he needed to resign due to health concerns.

The indictment describes, if true, someone truly addicted to child porn. The investigative unit was given a lead that an email account kimdavid5582@yahoo.com was being used to trade child pornography on the Internet. kimdavid5582 was shown chatting with users about preferences among children. In a November conversation, Farmham describes a sexual encounter with a 6-year-old girl and a few weeks later allegedly said “I wish I had access to all the vids and pics ever made.” If the indictment is correct, he certain made progress in that goal with hundreds of such images and videos. It is surprising that a legislator who obviously knew this area was not more concerned about the well-known monitoring of these sites and sting operations.

To her credit, Democratic Rep. Mary Flowers, a longtime advocate for children, insisted: “I don’t want to cast him off as being guilty until he’s been found guilty.” That shows admirable restraint.

The combination of the files and the online chats presents a huge challenge for the defense in this case. He could easily receive the maximum of ten years given the aggravating elements of holding a position of public trust and the use of public computers. It is not clear if his medical issues will delay the trial. Farnham is being treated for bladder cancer and has pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that causes lung tissue to scar.

Farnham is a Navy veteran and a father. He ran a painting business in Elgin and is a graduate of the University of Maine.

Source: Chicago Tribune

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