Overview

• Colin Gruenke, 37, of Deerfield, was charged Friday in U.S. District Court with one count of distribution and one count of possession of child pornography.
• Federal agents executed search warrants on Aug. 13 at the Illinois State Police Chicago District office and Gruenke’s Deerfield home, recovering deleted thumbnails from his iPhone and a 16-gigabyte flash drive containing about 200 abuse videos.
• The investigation began in September 2024 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received tips from the Kik app; Comcast IP logs and Kik chat records tied the uploads to Gruenke’s residence.
• Gruenke remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Young Kim on Aug. 18, where prosecutors will argue to hold him without bond.
• The Illinois State Police has placed Gruenke on unpaid administrative leave and launched an internal review in cooperation with federal investigators.