Dongola Paramedic, Registered Nurse and Church Deacon Charged With Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material (Chicago, IL) — A 43-year-old Dongola man who worked as a paramedic and registered nurse and served as a church deacon has been charged with multiple felony counts alleging he possessed child sexual abuse material involving children under the age of 13, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office announced.
Gregory Brown was charged in Union County Circuit Court with 12 counts of possession of child pornography involving a child under 13, according to the Attorney General’s Office. Each charge is classified as a Class 2 felony and carries a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison. Any sentence will ultimately be determined by the court.
Brown was being held at the Pulaski County Jail pending a detention hearing scheduled for Oct. 5.
The charges followed an investigation by Raoul’s Investigations Division, working with the Illinois State Police and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators searched Brown’s residence on Burns Road in Dongola, where authorities said child sexual abuse material was discovered on his cellphone.
Authorities said Brown was employed as a paramedic with a local ambulance company and as a registered nurse at a local hospital at the time of his arrest. He also served as a deacon at a local church.
“Child exploitation is an unimaginable crime that leaves survivors and their families with life-long scars,” Raoul said in announcing the charges. “My office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force will continue to work tirelessly with local law enforcement in Union County and around the state to track down and hold accountable those who exploit children.”
The investigation is part of a broader effort by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and law enforcement agencies to identify people suspected of downloading, possessing or distributing child sexual abuse material online.
Union County State’s Attorney Tyler Tripp, whose office is prosecuting the case alongside the Attorney General’s Office, said protecting children and communities remains a priority.
“Protection of our children and communities from child predators and sexually dangerous individuals is of the utmost importance to the Union County State’s Attorney,” Tripp said. “We remain committed to ridding our streets and communities of these individuals by any means available under Illinois law.”
Deputy Bureau Chief Shantikumar Kulkarni is prosecuting the case for Raoul’s High Tech Crimes Bureau.
The investigation was conducted with assistance from the Attorney General’s Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children, or ICAC, Task Force. The task force operates with funding from a U.S. Department of Justice grant and works with law enforcement agencies across the state to investigate crimes involving the exploitation of children online.
The Illinois ICAC Task Force receives CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Those reports can alert authorities to suspected online exploitation and the sharing of child sexual abuse material.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, CyberTipline reports received by the Illinois ICAC Task Force increased by 45% in 2025 compared with the previous year.
The Illinois task force is part of a nationwide network of 61 ICAC task forces and works with more than 200 local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Since 2019, the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force has received more than 82,900 CyberTips and has been involved in more than 1,150 arrests of individuals accused of sexually exploiting children, according to the Attorney General’s Office. In 2025 alone, the task force was involved in the rescue of more than 30 child victims from ongoing abuse.
The task force also conducts internet safety education and training. The Attorney General’s Office said those efforts have reached more than 1 million parents, teachers and students, as well as more than 25,000 law enforcement professionals.
Authorities are encouraging members of the public to report suspected child sexual exploitation through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline at cybertipline.com. Suspected child abuse in Illinois can be reported through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services online reporting system at dcfsonlinereporting.dcfs.illinois.gov.
Information about local child advocacy centers is available through the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois at childrensadvocacycentersofillinois.org.
Brown’s case remains pending in Union County Circuit Court. The charges are allegations, and Brown is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.
Dongola Paramedic, Registered Nurse and Church Deacon Charged With Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material
