Joshua Price, a 27-year-old military veteran who served in Iraq, allegedly told a Joliet detective he looked at child porn to “quiet his mind” and stop thinking about killing his wife and two young daughters.
But what troubled Will County Judge Edward Burmila is that Price so wanted to look at the stash he kept on a computer flash drive he took it to a Joliet Junior College computer lab, where anyone could peek over his shoulder.
And when Price’s attorney, Eric Mitchell, argued in court Monday his client didn’t create the explicit images of children as young as 2, Burmila said it existed because of desires like Price’s.
“In a sense, he did create the pornographic material,” Burmila said.
Burmila then sentenced Price to four years in prison, moments after the Crest Hill man pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of child pornography. Price’s military service and post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis saved him from the maximum seven-year sentence, according to the judge.
Price told Burmila he was sorry and would seek counseling.
“I promise not to come back,” Price said.
Price’s risky trip to the college computer lab led to his arrest in March. A student there found Price’s flash drive in a computer and gave it to a lab assistant, who took it to police after looking at the contents.
Assistant State’s Attorney Fred Harvey said police recovered hundreds of images from the flash drive, which also contained Price’s homework.
After officers searched Price’s home, Harvey said, Price acknowledged ownership of 43 pornographic images of children ranging in age from 2 to 15.
Burmila boosted Price’s bail to $1 million two months later after a Joliet detective said Price told him he looked at the pornography to quell violent thoughts toward his wife and children.
Mitchell said Price’s statements to police have been “misconstrued,” and the comment didn’t lead to any criminal charges. Price’s wife said in court records in April he never abused her nor, to the best of her knowledge, their children.
