Attorney General Announces Child Pornography Charges Filed Against Fayette County Man

Child pornography charges have been filed in Fayette County Circuit Court against a Vandalia man.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said 44-year-old Ferrell Mason Kissiar is charged with reproducing and disseminating child pornography. Kissiar has been charged by Fayette County State's Attorney Josh Morrison with three counts of dissemination of child pornography, one count of reproduction of child pornography, and two counts of possession of child pornography. Two of the charges are Class X Felonies, non-probationable offenses with potential sentences of from six to 30 years in prison.

Attorney General investigators and Vandalia police conducted a search of a residence in the 400 block of Poplar Street in Vandalia and arrested Kissiar based on evidence found at the location. Raoul's office said Kissiar as a preacher in Patoka and was recently a teacher's aide at a private school in Nokomis.

The Illinois Attorney General's Office, with a grant from the US Department of Justice, runs the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that investigates child exploitation crimes and trains law enforcement agencies. Since 2006, the Attorney General's ICAC Task Force has been involved in more than 1,700 arrests of sexual predators.