Illinois State Trooper charged with distributing child pornography

DEERFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — An Illinois State Trooper, who also worked as a youth hockey referee, has been charged with distributing child pornography.

Federal authorities said Colin Gruenke, 37, of Deerfield, is facing charges of distributing child pornography and possession of child pornography.

A search warrant was conducted at his home on Wednesday after investigators pursued an investigation into his activities that began from a September tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that someone had used two accounts on the messaging app Kik to upload child pornography.

It was there that agents found a flash drive containing around 200 images of child pornography, many of them showing children being sexually abused by adults.

Investigators said Gruenke used a VPN to conceal his location when he uploaded child sex abuse material.

Court records showed chat logs allegedly between Gruenke and a third party, discussing child sex abuse in graphic detail.

Federal agents confronted Gruenke at Illinois State Police headquarters in Des Plaines on Wednesday, at which point Gruenke was allegedly holding an iPhone in his hand that later was found to contain child pornography, some featuring children as young as 4 years old.

Authorities said Gruenke plays in an adult hockey league in Northbrook and is also a youth hockey referee.

The Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois said it has encouraged anyone with information to contact law enforcement. The association said Gruenke has not refereed for them since November 2021, and has not registered as a referee since 2021-22.