OREGON, Ill. – After a jury deliberation that lasted over three hours, an Oregon man was convicted Wednesday of several counts of child pornography possession. Joshua Lake, 30, of Stillman Valley, faced charges stemming from evidence recovered by authorities in 2018.
Lake was initially charged with 10 felony counts of possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material. However, in a pre-trial decision, the prosecution dropped seven of those charges, including two related to the alleged dissemination of the offensive content. This left Lake facing three counts relating to possession of videos depicting minors—under the age of 13—engaged in explicit activities.
Assistant State’s Attorney Allison Huntley presented evidence suggesting that the illicit material was found on Lake’s mobile device and associated social media accounts. “This phone, which belongs to the defendant, contained horrific images implicating him directly,” Huntley argued during the trial, demonstrating with the evidence in hand.
Challenging the prosecution’s claims, defense attorney William Schuck contended that the mobile device found did not belong to Lake. He suggested it was possible to fabricate account information linked to the device. “Setting up a fake social media profile is hardly proof of ownership,” Schuck reasoned, suggesting that someone else could have used Lake’s name.
Adding a twist to the defense, Schuck introduced an alternative suspect—Lake’s older brother—who he claimed fled to Russia under suspicious circumstances shortly after charges were brought against Lake. “The timing of his departure raises questions about the real owner of the phone,” Schuck put forth.
Despite these arguments, prosecution asserted firmly that Lake had admitted ownership of the phone during a police interview, a claim Lake’s defense could not shake, particularly since the interview wasn’t recorded. Huntley also noted that identifiers linked to Lake’s personal information were used on the social media and email accounts connected to the phone.
In a striking rebuttal to the defense’s focus on the lack of DNA or fingerprint evidence, Huntley pressed the jury to rely on circumstantial evidence and common sense. “It is not necessary to prove physical contact with the device, merely that it was his,” she stated.
The jury, comprising seven men and five women, returned a guilty verdict after an exhaustive day that saw them seeking judicial clarification on evidentiary matters well into the evening. Each count against Lake carries a potential sentence of three to seven years in prison, mandatory supervised release for two years, and a fine of up to $100,000.
Lake, who has seen several attorneys and periods of jail time since his arrest, was deemed unfit in March 2022 but later restored to competency to stand trial. He further complicated his legal battles by failing to appear for a key hearing in October 2022 and again falling into custody before his trial in 2023.
As the community and legal observers await his sentencing scheduled for mid-October, uncertainties linger around the implications of his conviction on broader issues of digital responsibility and the mechanisms used to track ownership and accountability for online activities. The judge has meanwhile ordered a pre-sentencing report and granted a request for Lake to undergo a sex offender evaluation, which will likely influence the final sentencing outcomes.