Former sergeant indicted on federal charges

A former McHenry County Sheriff's deputy, who already faces sex charges from a January arrest, has been formally charged with transmitting child pornography over the Internet and crossing states lines with the intent to abuse someone younger than 12, authorities announced Wednesday.

A federal grand jury this week indicted Gregory M. Pyle, 37, who was once the department's lead investigator for child pornography, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Pyle is accused of sexually abusing a child on multiple occasions, including on a trip to Wisconsin in December 2008 to see a Marquette University basketball game when the boy was 9, according to a federal complaint.

Pyle, now of Crest Hill and formerly of Crystal Lake, has been held by federal authorities since his arrest in mid-August and is due in federal court Thursday.

The new charges came after Pyle, a 10-year department veteran who has been relieved of his police powers and is on administrative leave, was charged with 10 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault in January.

According to court documents, Pyle is accused of assaulting the child, who was younger than 13, between September 2006 and September 2010.

Pyle is due in McHenry County Court on those charges Monday and faces a sentence of six to 30 years in prison if convicted.

If convicted on the most severe of the federal charges, which is crossing a state line to engage in a sexual act with a minor, Pyle could face a minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison.

The charge of sexual exploitation of a child younger than 12 for the purpose of producing child pornography carries a prison term of 15 to 30 years if convicted.