SPRINGFIELD – Attorney General Kwame Raoul Thursday announced that a Perry County man was sentenced to 55 years in prison after being convicted in February of possessing and reproducing child pornography. The case is part of the Attorney General’s ongoing work to apprehend offenders who download and trade child pornography online.

Attorney General Raoul’s office prosecuted 42-year-old Timothy E. Hedrick of Cutler, who was convicted by a Perry County jury of three counts of reproduction of child pornography, Class X felonies, and five counts of possession of child pornography, Class 2 felonies. Perry County Circuit Judge James Campanella sentenced Hedrick.

“This sentence will protect other children from being exploited by this predator,” Raoul said. “My office, through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, is committed to working with local law enforcement to track down and hold accountable individuals who perpetuate these horrible crimes.”

Raoul’s office charged Hedrick after investigators from the Attorney General’s office, with the assistance of the Perry County Drug Task Force – comprised of the Perry County Sheriff’s office and the Du Quoin and Pinckneyville police departments – conducted a 2021 search of a residence in Cutler. Hedrick was arrested after investigators discovered evidence of alleged child pornography depicting children under the age of 13.

Assistant Attorneys General Shanti Kulkarni and Vanessa Minson prosecuted the case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes and Sexually Violent Persons Bureaus.