Guilty Plea In Mercer County Child Porn Case

A Viola senior citizen has pleaded guilty in a child porn case. 78-year-old Richard Hockenberry entered the open plea to two Class 2 felonies Tuesday morning in Mercer County Circuit Court. The charges were the result of a search warrant executed at his home last August by Illinois State Police investigators along with the Illinois Attorney General’s High Tech Crime Bureau and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office. Hockenberry is free on a $50,000 recognizance bond. He will be sentenced Oct. 3.