Bond set for Bellwood Police Commander accused of child pornography possession

BELLWOOD, Ill. (WLS) -- Bond was set Saturday for a Bellwood police commander who has been accused of possessing child pornography, according to DuPage County officials.

John Trevarthen, 45, has been charged with three counts of possession of child pornography, a class 2 felony, according to a statement from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. He appeared in bond court Saturday morning and Judge Anthony Coco set bond at $150,000 with 10% to apply.

According to the statement, a Lombard Police detective, who is also a member of the Illinois Attorney General Crimes Against Children Taskforce, received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in January. The tip was regarding suspected child pornography videos and photographs that were allegedly uploaded on a smartphone file-sharing application with an email address that registered to a home in Lombard.

The Lombard Police Department followed the tip and executed a traffic stop on the defendant on Feb. 5. An iPhone was seized during the stop and an iPad was seized from the defendant's home through a search warrant.

Through investigation, it is alleged Travarthen used a personal IP address and an IP address owned by the Village of Bellwood to view child pornography through the file-sharing application Kik.

Trevarthen is scheduled to appear in court again on Mar. 8. Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant's guilt, the statement said.