Decatur Resident Charged with Possession of Nearly 4,000 Child Exploitation Images and Videos

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DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A Decatur resident is now facing multiple felony charges, primarily related to child pornography, following a raid by State Police on Tuesday. Authorities discovered thousands of videos and images depicting child sexual abuse at his residence.

The case against 50-year-old Harry O. Shull was initiated in August when the Illinois State Police were alerted to a suspicious download from a notorious website known for distributing illegal content. According to a sworn affidavit by Special Agent Michael Holt, the initial download contained 120 videos featuring children, some as young as toddlers, being sexually abused by adults. Additionally, it included nearly 3,500 still images extracted from those videos, Holt reported.

In late September, a subsequent download was traced, containing another 336 videos and photos, further implicating Shull in these heinous activities, Holt added.

“On September 3 and October 23, 2025, I received search warrant responses from Comcast Cable Communications via email,” Holt stated. “These responses confirmed Harry O. Shull as the subscriber associated with the IP address used during the illegal downloads.”

State Police obtained a search warrant for Shull’s home on Main Street and served that warrant on Tuesday. Shull was arrested, read his Miranda rights and placed in the back of an ISP squad car. Holt said that in the squad car, Shull agreed to an interview with Holt and another ISP special agent without a lawyer present.

“Harry admitted he has come across, viewed and downloaded child pornography onto his computer,” Holt said. “Harry stated he has viewed and downloaded child pornography of victims under the age of 12 years old.”

Holt added that while at Shull’s house, a forensic download of his laptop happened, and Holt personally saw a video on it depicting the rape of an underage girl. Special agents also found a shotgun and a pistol in the home.

Shull was charged the day after his arrest with a total of 12 counts:

5 Class X felony counts of disseminating child pornography
5 Class 2 felony counts of possessing child pornography
2 Class A misdemeanor counts of possessing a weapon without a FOID card

Appearing in court for the first time, Shull was arraigned on these charges and Judge Lindsey Shelton granted the state’s petition to deny Shull pretrial release. He will be held in the Macon County Jail as his case proceeds.

Shull is due back in court on Nov. 19 for a preliminary hearing. He will enter a formal plea to the charges against him on that date.

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Decatur Resident Charged with Possession of Nearly 4,000 Child Exploitation Images and Videos

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Decatur Resident Charged with Possession of Nearly 4,000 Child Exploitation Images and Videos

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