Benjamin W. Harbaugh

A Waterloo man was sentenced this week in Monroe County to more than three years in prison for child pornography. His sentence will run concurrently with a Sept. 22 sentence imposed in Perry County for aggravated child sexual abuse.

A Monroe County judge sentenced Benjamin W. Harbaugh, 26, of Waterloo, to 45 months in the Illinois Department of Corrections for one count of child porn. Harbaugh possessed visual reproductions of a child engaging in a sex act, court information states. He was given credit for 197 days already served in jail.

The child porn case came about following Harbaugh’s arrest for aggravated child sex abuse in Perry County. In December, Harbaugh committed a sex act with a male victim who was at least 13 but under 17 years of age. He was recently sentenced to 45 months in prison on that charge, and also ordered to pay restitution of $734.50 to the victim for counseling services.

Harbaugh’s wife at the time of his arrest told police that Harbaugh had child porn on his computer. Police executed a search warrant at a home in rural Waterloo on April 8 and found evidence of thousands of digital photos and videos of child porn.