Volleyball Coach Admits To Enticing Boy, Possessing Child Pornography, Installing Hidden Restroom Camera
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A northwest suburban volleyball coach, who was found with dozens of child pornography images and videos of underage children using a public restroom, has agreed to a plea deal.
In a hearing before U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo, Michael Liedtke, 34, of Streamwood, pleaded guilty to enticing a then 16-year-old boy to send him two sexually graphic videos. The boy sent the videos to Liedtke through his cellphone, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Liedtke also admitted to installing a hidden video camera in a ceiling tile in a public bathroom at the Xcel Athletes youth volleyball practice facility in Carol Stream. The camera was linked to a computer where police found multiple images of about 400 people, including about 300 children under 18, as they used the washroom, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Liedtke also had 29 images and six videos of child pornography on an external disk drive. All of the children who appeared in the images and videos have been identified as known child victims by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
"Mr. Liedtke betrayed our community by victimizing children entrusted to his care," FBI Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge Keithley said in a news release. "The FBI is charged with protecting our most vulnerable citizens from exploitation, and this guilty plea demonstrates our commitment to working with law enforcement partners to ensure that predators like Mr. Liedtke answer for their crimes."
Authorities said Liedtke owns Xcel Athletes, which operates several youth volleyball facilities in the suburbs.
