A Chicago-area veterinarian and noted dog show judge pleaded not guilty Thursday to child pornography charges alleging he traded videos of minors being abused and chatted online about a plan to sexually assault his newborn son.
Adam Stafford King, 39, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit. He gave a small wave to his parents seated in the nearly empty courtroom gallery as he entered the courtroom, but did not speak during the brief hearing.
King, of far west suburban Elburn, was indicted last week on a single count of distribution of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
His attorney, Jonathan Bedi, entered a not guilty plea on King’s behalf. The next hearing was set for May 9 before U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt.
King, a veterinarian specializing in ophthalmology who had been scheduled to be a judge in the toy dog category at the Westminster Kennel Club show in May, was arrested at his home in Elburn on March 22 on a 33-page criminal complaint that was first reported by the Tribune.
According to the complaint, King, using the handle “@pervchiguy,” traded child pornography with an unidentified person in New York and told the person he liked kids in the “single digits.”
The two met on Scruff, a social media platform catering to the gay community where users can give other profiles “Woofs” to show interest, according to the complaint.
After the person in New York was arrested last year, the FBI posed as him on both Scruff and another social media app, Telegram, and exchanged messages with King, including images of an ultrasound of his baby boy, who was due to be born March 29 via a surrogate mother in California, according to the complaint.
King described in graphic terms how he planned to sexually assault the child, according to prosecutors. He also sent the the person in New York, who he thought was a fellow pedophile, a photo of a newborn outfit, saying “Maybe you’ll get to meet my boy,” followed by a crying laughing emoji, prosecutors alleged.
The complaint also included other disturbing chats where King allegedly stated he had drugged and sexually abused relatives in the past and also sexually abused a 4-year-old.
When federal agents raided the home King shares with his husband in early March, he retreated to the shower and deleted the Telegram app from his phone, prosecutors alleged.
Despite the raid, King was about to go ahead with plans to fly with his husband to California last week to be present for the birth of their son, prosecutors alleged.
Instead, King was ordered detained by U.S. Magistrate Judge Keri Holleb Hotaling, who called King “a serious danger to children.”
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
