SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A Petersburg man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to a large number of crimes against children.

On March 13, Adam Power, 32 of Petersburg, received his sentence. On May 2, 2024, Power pleaded guilty to 34 counts, which included charges for sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

At the sentencing hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Collen R. Lawless, the government established that Power, a former substitute teacher, choir director and theater director in the Central District of Illinois, used at least 13 online accounts on a number of platforms to portray himself as a teenage girl in order to persuade and entice, and attempt to persuade and entice, at least 24 boys between the ages of 8-16 to produce images of child pornography for him.

“The defendant believed he was untouchable online, and that the mask he wore in public disguised the predator he was underneath,” said Assistant United States Attorney Tanner K. Jacobs. “However, with tremendous cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement we were able to put a stop to another internet-based offender.”

Power also used the images of a female victim in order to create the trust of his male victims. The government noted that he targeted not just strangers online but also victimized children he knew or had met before. They also said that Power, because he had distributed victim images, had placed the minors in situations where their images could now be anywhere across the world.

In imposing the Court’s sentence, Judge Lawless found that Power’s actions had been heinous. She said that he had been “methodical” in his approach to obtaining the child pornography from his victims, and that Power, who had referred to himself as a “perfectionist” during his hearing, had used this perfectionism to prey upon the children in his community.

Lawless additionally found that Power’s use of his positions and accomplishments ultimately led to the loss of the victims’ privacy, security and trust.

“This case is a stark reminder that predators lurk where we least expect them – hiding behind screens, positions of trust, and false identities to exploit the most vulnerable among us,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) ​Chicago Special Agent in Charge, Matthew Scarpino. “Power’s calculated and egregious crimes have forever impacted his victims, but today, justice has prevailed.”

Power was indicted in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in May 2024. He has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest in June 2023. The following agencies investigated this case:

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations
• Athens Police Department
• Menard County Sheriff’s Office
• Illinois Attorney General’s Office
• Petersburg Police Department
• Illinois State Police

Additionally, the Menard County State’s Attorney’s Office provided support, and Jacobs represented the government in the prosecution against Power. This specific case was brought as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to fight against the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The initiative, led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), uses federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute people who exploit children online, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

“Through the dedicated commitment of HSI and our law enforcement partners, we have ensured that this offender won’t have the opportunity to victimize another child,” Scarpino said.

For more information on Project Safe Childhood, visit projectsafechildhood.gov.