A suburban DuPage County judge set bond at $150,000 Saturday for a Bellwood police commander who was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography.
According to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, John Trevarthen, 45, of Lombard, used a personal IP address as well as an IP address owned by the village of Bellwood to view child pornography through the app "Kik."
In mid-January, according to prosecutors, a Lombard Police Department detective received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding suspected child pornography videos and photographs that were allegedly uploaded on a smart phone file-sharing application with an email address that registered to a home in Lombard.
On Feb. 5, officers performed a traffic stop on Trevarthen and seized his personal iPhone. Additionally, detectives executed a search warrant at his home and seized an iPad, prosecutors said.
"The allegations against Mr. Trevarthen are disturbing,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a news release. “I would like to thank the Lombard Police Department as well as the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office for their outstanding work on this case. I would also like to thank Assistant State’s Attorney Lee Roupas for his efforts in protecting the innocent victims of child pornography.”
Trevarthen is expected to appear in court March 8 for his arraignment.
