Computer Repair Leads to Child Porn Investigation

A 47-year-old man faces child porn charges after he brought his computer to a repair technician, who found a pornographic video on the hard drive, according to Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced Wednesday.

Investigators then found more than 1,000 pornographic images, according to the sheriff. Albert Galus, of Park Ridge, was taken into custody on Dec. 16 at his home.

A Cook County Grand Jury indicted him last week on 16 counts of aggravated possession of child pornography, which denotes possession of images/videos of children under 13 years of age, and nine counts of possession of child pornography.

A judge on Wednesday set bail at $100,000 for Galus, a former tutor for middle school and high school students. He was also ordered on electronic monitoring if he posts bond.

The investigation began after Galus took his computer in for repair. The technician working on the computer discovered a video of child pornography and contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, conducted the investigation. A forensic examination on Galus’ computer found more than 1,000 images and videos of child pornography, including some that depicted children under the age of 13.

Galus’ next court date is scheduled for Dec. 31 at the Skokie courthouse.