JOLIET -- Robert Brouillette sat quietly with his hands folded in his lap Friday as a Will County judge found him guilty of 10 charges relating to child pornography.Brouillette, who was a member of the Christian Brothers religious order, now faces between 4 and 15 years in prison for possessing pornographic images of children and sending them to others via the internet.
His defense had focused on the argument that prosecutor John McCabe could not prove that the images were of actual children.
The defense's only witness, computer graphic artist Michael Brooks, testified and demonstrated that images can be altered to make people look decades older or younger than they were in the original photo.
Images can also be altered on the computer to turn an innocent photo into something more lewd and pornographic.
As Judge Amy Bertani Tomczak peered over his shoulder from the bench, Brooks "morphed" two images into one.
He also showed the judge how he had taken the face from a Norman Rockwell painting and used it in a photograph image of another person.
The end result is a realistic looking photo that isn't real.
Defense attorney Mark Solock said Illinois law was enacted to protect actual children, not what may appear to be children.
"The issue...is whether a real child is depicted in the photographs that were both found and disseminated," Solock said.
"Judge, the pictures no longer speak for themselves...You can no longer tell if it's a real photo," he added.
But McCabe said the law was indeed intended to protect children.
And sending out images of children, whether real or not, is dangerous for children.
"The dissemination of images...is incredibly harmful to children," McCabe said.
"If we believe conduct is affected by images distributed to other people then children are at risk."
Judge Bertani Tomczak agreed with the state's interpretation of the law, which is expected to be revised next year to clarify any potential loop holes regarding computer imagery.
"I find that the statute covers these depictions," Bertani Tomczak said. "Your evidence did not persuade me and I find the defendant guilty as charged on all counts...This is child pornography."
Brouillette was arrested in April 1998 after allegedly trying to set up a meeting with a 12-year-old boy at a Burbank restaurant.
Unbeknownst to Brouillette, he had actually been communication with police officers in Cook County and had sent pornographic images to another detective investigating internet crimes in New Hampshire.
Charges on the Burbank incident are still pending in Cook County court.
After his arrest, Brouillette allowed investigators to search his room on the top floor of the Christian Brothers home at 958 Western Ave. in Joliet.
At that time he admitted to possessing about 400 images and led police to a box in his closet where he stored the computer diskettes.
He also admitted sending images to New Hampshire.
Brouillette remains free on bond until his sentencing on Jan. 26. Both possession of child pornography and possession with the intent to disseminate are Class 1 felonies.
Because of the dissemination of the images, Brouillette will be required to serve some time in prison, McCabe said.
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