Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a Litchfield, Illinois man was sentenced to 23 years in prison for disseminating child sexual abuse material. The case is part of Raoul’s ongoing work, in collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies and local law enforcement officials throughout Illinois, to apprehend offenders who download and trade child sexual abuse material online.
Dean Beasley, 19, was sentenced today in Montgomery County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to two counts of disseminating child sexual abuse material, Class X felonies.
“This sentence sends the message that if you disseminate child sexual abuse material, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It is my hope that today’s sentencing will help survivors and their families begin to heal from the trauma caused by child exploitation,” Raoul said. “I commend the work of my Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the collaboration with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office in holding this offender accountable.”
In February, Raoul’s investigators, along with officers from the Illinois State Police South Central Illinois Drug Task Force, conducted a search of Beasley’s residence in Litchfield. He was taken into custody when investigators discovered evidence of child sexual abuse material.
Raoul’s office prosecuted this case with the assistance of the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office.
“I would like to thank my staff and the members of the Illinois State Police - South Central Illinois Drug Task Force as well as members of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and its Internet Crimes Against Children investigators with the help in the prosecution to obtain justice for the most vulnerable victims and to protect them in Montgomery County as well as the state of Illinois,” said Brian Shaw, Montgomery County State's Attorney.
Raoul’s office, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force that investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. The task force receives CyberTips, or online reports of child sexual abuse material, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Over the last several years, CyberTipline reports have steadily increased. In 2025, reports to the ICAC Task Force increased by 45% over 2024.
Illinois’ ICAC Task Force is one of 61 ICAC task forces throughout the country and is comprised of a network of more than 200 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Since 2019, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has received more than 82,900 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 1,250 arrests of sexual predators. Since 2006, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 2,600 arrests of sexual predators. In 2025, the task force was involved in rescuing more than 30 child victims from ongoing abuse. The task force also has provided internet safety training and education to more than a million parents, teachers, students and more than 25,000 law enforcement professionals.
Attorney General Raoul is reminding the public that child sexual exploitation can be reported online at cybertipline.com and child abuse at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Nicole L. Bartell prosecuted the case for Raoul’s office.
