A Crystal Lake resident and city clerk has received a prison sentence following his guilty plea to charges of child pornography and grooming. The case has drawn significant attention in the north suburban community.

According to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Nicholas S. Kachiroubas, aged 45, was arrested in the summer of last year after an investigation led by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The investigation uncovered disturbing activities involving the grooming of minors and possession of illicit material.

Authorities revealed that Kachiroubas engaged in inappropriate conversations with children as young as 12 on social media platforms. He was also found in possession of child pornography and had distributed explicit images of himself. Earlier in the year, Kachiroubas negotiated a plea deal in relation to these charges.

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This month, Kachiroubas formally entered a guilty plea. On Thursday, a judge is set to hand down a sentence, with a five-year prison term anticipated.

Authorities said they found that Kachiroubas was having explicit conversations with children as young as 12 on social media. They say he had pictures of child porn and also shared pictures of himself. He negotiated a plea earlier this year.

Kachiroubas pleaded guilty earlier this month. A judge expected to sentence him to five years in prison on Thursday.

ABC7 Chicago news partner the Daily Herald reported that Kachiroubas had been the city clerk for Crystal Lake since 2009.

He also sits on the Illinois Community College Board, and is an associate professor for DePaul University. The university told ABC7 that Kachiroubas no longer works at DePaul.