Plethora Of Child Porn Leads Convicted Attorney To Consent To Disbarment
An Illinois attorney seeks disbarment by consent on these admitted facts
On August 27, 2017, the Elmhurst Police Department was contacted by Kimberly Fuller (“Fuller”), a secretary and real estate agent for Tellefsen & Associates Real Estate (“Tellefsen Realty”), a real estate office where Movant had his law office, advising them that she had arrived at work on that date around noon and, shortly after she arrived, she observed photographs of naked girls well under the age of 18 left in an office computer printer and immediately left the business and called the police.
Charmaine Tellefsen, the owner of Tellefsen Realty and Movant’s mother, arrived at the business at about the same time as Fuller, but Fuller did not advise Mrs. Tellefsen what she observed or where she was going when she left the office. Fuller met with Officers Thomas Cronin and Scott Lange in a parking lot near the real estate office, advised them what she observed, and escorted the police officers back to Tellefsen Realty, where she walked straight to the printer and handed Officers Cronin and Lange the five copies from the printer which had been printed earlier in the day from a website named “NUDISM77.Com.” The officers placed the copies into a folder and kept them in their possession. Mrs. Tellefsen confirmed that Movant had likely been at the business earlier in the day to open the front door for her, since she was unable to open the door due to her age and physical condition. Officers Cronin and Lange advised Mrs. Tellefsen why they were at her business, and she agreed to allow a detective to check her computers. Movant arrived at the scene several hours later. During the course of the day, Officers Kenneth Lafin, Guy Schweik, Carl Hawkins, James O’Connor, Daniel Torza and Michael Stenso, all from the Elmhurst Police Department, assisted in collecting evidence or interviewing Movant.
Detective Kenneth Lafin arrived at the real estate office at approximately 2:00 p.m. and obtained Movant’s consent to search his computer. Movant confirmed to Detective Lafin that, if searched, his office computer would contain hundreds of pictures of naked young girls and girls engaging in sexual acts, which he found online and printed at the office. Respondent further admitted that he is attracted to pre-pubescent children and he thought the girls in the photographs were under the age of 13.
Detective Daniel Torza of the Elmhurst Police Department arrived at the real estate office at approximately 4:00 p.m. and, along with Detective Lafin, continued the questioning of Movant. Movant admitted to printing the five images found by Fuller, saving multiple images on the work printer and saving them in a box on a shelf in the office. Over 3,000 child pornography photographs were eventually located by the Elmhurst Police Department at Tellefsen Realty and/or on Movant’s computer.
On August 27, 2017, Movant was arrested and charged with seven (7) counts of child pornography, all class 2 felonies. The felony complaint was superseded by a seven (7) count indictment returned, on September 12, 2017, by a grand jury sitting in the County of DuPage, in the State of Illinois. People of the State of Illinois v. Ralph F. Tellefsen, 17 CF 1763-01. Each of the seven counts charged Movant with a separate violation of 720 ILCS 5/11-20.1 (a)(6) and 720 ILCS 5/11-20.1(c-5), by possessing a photograph wherein a child under the age of 13 was engaged in sexual conduct. On September 21, 2017, Movant was arraigned on the indictment, and entered a plea of not guilty.
On June 15, 2018, Movant pled guilty to Count I of the indictment, Possessing a Visual Reproduction on a Computer of a Victim under the Age of 13 Engaged in an Act of Sexual Penetration, a class 2 felony. (720 ILCS 5/11-20.1(a)(6) The remaining 6 counts were nolle prossed.
(Mike Frisch)