Algonquin man admitted he had thousands of images of child sex abuse, authorities say

Authorities say an Algonquin man admitted to possessing nearly 10,000 images of child sexual abuse and to having watched such materials since the 1990s.Norman A. Franke, 77, is charged with 12 counts of Class X felony possession and disseminating, or offering to disseminate, moving depictions of child sex abuse material, according to a criminal complaint in McHenry County court; he’s also charged with and three Class 2 counts of possession of child sex abuse material. He appeared in court Thursday, where he was denied pretrial release from the McHenry County jail.Assistant State’s Attorney Henry Sugden argued for Franke’s detention, noting he’s a computer programmer who lives alone, works from home and is knowledgeable about technology. Sugden said nothing other than keeping jail would keep Franke from accessing and downloading such images. His actions help feed a market in which children are being sexually abused, and no conditions will stop him, Sugden argued.When police arrived at F