URBANA -- The state's request to detain Dante Scott on charges of child pornography possession and dissemination was granted in an arraignment hearing today.
The hearing also included a new charge filed by the state this morning that alleges Scott groomed a child, attempting to "seduce, solicit or entice a child to distribute photographs depicting the sex organs of the child."
Judge Brett Olmstead said that the state has "clear and convincing evidence that he presents a real and present threat to community safety," and that he doesn't believe there are conditions under which Scott could be released that would mitigate the threat.
That evidence, presented by State's Attorney Julia Rietz during the arraignment, involves digital forensics from an ongoing investigation that has already identified two victims and includes what Rietz called "a horrific amount" of child pornography.
The National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, which operates a cyber tip line that takes reports from online service providers like Facebook, forwarded a tip about Scott to the Illinois State Police on Sept. 6, Rietz said, that was immediately elevated to "priority one."
That's because the agency had a concern about current risk to an actual child and it was linked to an IP address that had also been the subject of 14 other cyber tips.
State police were able to find multiple email addresses and Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to the same IP address.
"Seven of those account names include the term 'PYT love' or 'PYT loving,' which is known to mean 'pretty young thing,'" Rietz said. "That is what the term is commonly known to mean among the child pornography community."
Some social media handles also included "DJ SLIM," Scott's performer name.
Using one of those Instagram accounts, Rietz said that Scott was sending "chats to multiple other users saying he was the stepfather of a child, having conversations about the sexual abuse of that child and sending or selling files and links of child pornography, including images of the child who he refers to as his stepchild."
Scott would also ask recipients to send back "videos of them masturbating to the photographs and images," Rietz said.
He referred to that child by her real first name, which state police used to search local school records and locate her mother, who reported that she had been in a relationship with Scott and lived with him and the child for around three years.
In court on Thursday, Rietz described some of the images involved that had to be shown to the mother to identify the child.
"There are additional instances that have been discovered as the investigation has proceeded. I'm not going to go through each one of those because they're very graphic, but they all are instances of children, prepubescent, under 13 years of age, in various stages of undress either being subjected to actual sexual abuse or portrayed in lewd ways," Rietz said.
Police executed a search warrant of Scott's home on Monday. He was placed under arrest, and police seized a phone he admitted was his, which was reviewed by a data dump on Wednesday.
The data dump revealed messages with a local middle school student, which led to the addition of the grooming charge.
In messages Rietz read aloud, Scott repeatedly asks the child to send photos of herself and she declines, saying she would get caught.
That child was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center, where she said she had been introduced to Scott through a classmate and had exchanged texts and photos with him.
"This just scratches the surface, because this investigation has just started," Rietz said.
As arraignment hearings determine whether the defendant should be detained, not whether they are guilty, Public Defender Anthony Ortega did not respond to accusations leveled against Scott.
"Mr. Scott helps care for his mother, who is present in court today, who has cancer and suffered a heart attack," Ortega said.
Ortega said Scott accompanies his mother to chemotherapy appointments, cooks for her, makes sure she takes her medicine and visits her frequently.
He also cited Scott's strong history of employment and role as a student, suggesting pretrial conditions such as no-contact orders, restrictions on internet use or GPS supervision.
Scott also has a well-known history of volunteerism, work at the Champaign Public Library and with The Beat program promoting downtown Champaign.
Judge Olmstead said that Scott's actions make him someone who has "gone beyond end user."
Olmstead said that, legally, a child is considered a victim both when pornography is created of them and every single time the image is shared.
"It is out there forever and bounces around the world, forever," Olmstead said.
He also spoke about an online "marketplace" that demands material generated by "horrifying victimization" that Scott was providing.
"As a practical matter, logistical matter and plain reality, there are no conditions of release the court can enter that mitigate that really present threat," Olmstead said, explaining his decision to detain Scott until trial.