An Elmwood Park man charged with possession of child pornography had been scheduled to work a clerkship with an Illinois Supreme Court justice this summer, but that job could be in jeopardy now, his lawyer said.
According to Elmwood Park police, Joseph Promisco, 26, of the 2000 block of North 74th Avenue, was charged with possessing child pornography after he allegedly used social media to interact with a juvenile from Los Angeles. The joint investigation began with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
During a bond hearing May 27 in Maywood, prosecutors allege that Promisco used a “fictitious name” to entice a 15-year-old boy into believing he was a 22-year-old female from San Diego.
Attorney Julie Trevarthen, who represented Promisco in bond court, said her client holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a third-year law student at DePaul University. Trevarthen further said Promisco had arranged a clerkship with Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke this summer. Efforts to contact the Illinois Supreme Court on Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.
“The defendant’s background makes him a very unusual suspect to be sitting in front of you,” Trevarthen said. “He has no criminal history.”
Trevarthen asked the judge to lessen her client’s bond, stating his father, a former Cook County Sheriff’s officer, will personally make sure he attends each court date.
“I am asking you to release him on an I-bond with every single condition you can possibly impose,” Trevarthen said. “It will be such a hardship for the family.”
Judge Ramon Ocasio set bond at $50,000, and the judge gave Promisco a court date of June 15 in Maywood.
Among the conditions of the bond include requiring Promisco to attend every court hearing, refrain from any contact with minors, including relatives, have no contact with the alleged victim and have no contact with any device that has access to the Internet.
Judge Ocasio asked how Promisco would be able to complete his job with the Illinois Supreme Court this summer without Internet access. Trevarthen said that might affect the clerkship.
“I think his clerkship is over,” Trevarthen said. “I suppose if he makes a disclosure, if [Justice Burke] chooses to keep him and has no access to [the Internet], I suppose he can keep his clerkship.”
The contact allegedly began March 16 on a website called “BodySpace,” which eventually led the two to communicate through Facebook and a messenger app called “Kik,” prosecutors said.
After communicating with each other, Promisco allegedly received “nude photos and a video” through Facebook, prosecutors said. According to prosecutors, the juvenile’s father discovered the video on the boy’s phone and alerted the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
On May 25, the Elmwood Park Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Chicago Police Department, Berwyn Police Department and the West Suburban SRT team delivered a search warrant of Promisco’s home.
According to Elmwood Park police, a laptop, hard drive and iPhone were located during the search, which linked Promisco as the offender.
Twitter: @steveschering
