LITH Teen Pleads Not Guilty to Child Porn Charges

Joseph Szykowny-Biegel shook his head in disagreement as he listened to Judge Joseph Condon read the child pornography charges brought against him during a court hearing Wednesday morning.

The 18-year-old Lake in the Hills teen entered a not guilty plea to the two counts of aggravated child pornography charges and two counts of child pornography during the hearing. The aggravated child pornography charges allege he possessed images of children under the ages of 13 years old.

Szykowny-Biegel was taken into custody on Feb. 24 after police searched his home at 3 Rochelle Ct., where they found pornographic images of children and confiscated his computers.

The arrest came after a tip from the Huntley Police Department, said Mary Frake, deputy chief for the Lake in the Hills Police Department.

The Huntley Police Department is a member of the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was able to detect the dissemination and receipt of the illegal images and backtrack it to the Lake in the Hills address, Frake said.

None of the children in the pornographic images were known by Szykowny-Biegel, Frake said.

Joseph Szykowny-Biegel is next expected in court on May 18.