The complaint alleges that Masulla, Robinson and Milligan were involved in a sexual encounter in an Indiana hotel room with victims of the age of 11 and 3, and that photographs of the sexual activity were taken.
A child pornography case that began with a city police investigation has ensnared three people on federal charges.
The case began with local authorities investigating a woman in custody on charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and led to the broader child pornography case, police sources said.
Charged this week in federal court in East St. Louis are Louise Helen Masulla, 32, of New Athens, Tabitha D. Robinson, 32, of Midlothian, Ill; and William M. Milligan, 27, of Bloomington, Ind.
Masulla, Robinson and Milligan were charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography and with conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. In addition, Masulla was charged with aggravated sexual abuse and transportation. Milligan was also charged with receipt of child pornography.
The violations are alleged to have occurred between July 22 and Aug. 10 of this year in Madison County and elsewhere. The affidavit to the complaint indicates that the investigation began as a result of a report made to Alton police regarding criminal sexual conduct involving a child and activities occurring in Internet chat rooms.
The complaint alleges that Masulla, Robinson and Milligan were involved in a sexual encounter in an Indiana hotel room with victims of the age of 11 and 3, and that photographs of the sexual activity were taken.
Alton police sources said the child porn case developed as the result of the review of contents of a computer seized after the arrest of Masulla. She was charged earlier in the month, along with Stephen G. Recker, 28, of New Athens, on multiple counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, following a tip to the department.
Alton Police Chief Chris Sullivan said earlier that the incidents took place at a residence on Oscar Street in Alton, where Recker and Masulla apparently had been staying. He said the defendants were not originally from Alton.
The charges in the Alton case appear to involve sexual acts committed upon a single child, identified only by the same set of initials in each charge, who was younger than 13 years old at the time. However, Sullivan referred to plural “victims” in the earlier case and said there was a “genetic relationship” between the victims and the offenders.
The evidence supporting the latest charges was obtained through an investigation conducted by the Springfield, Chicago, and Indianapolis offices of the FBI, the Alton Police Department, the Illinois State Police and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, according to a release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, assisted in the investigation of Milligan.
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne M. Garrison for prosecution.
Conspiracy to produce child pornography carries a penalty of from 15 years up to 30 years. The conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity offense carries a penalty of from 10 years to life. Aggravated sexual abuse carries a penalty of 30 years up to life. Transportation and receipt of child pornography carry a penalty of from 5 to 20 years. The offenses also carry a term of supervised release of from five years to life.
Alton Chief Sullivan said Mike Bazzell, the department’s cyber investigator, is a member of the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, which has investigated a number of similar cases.
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