Feb. 11--Imprisoned former state Rep. Keith Farnham has been sued by two underage girls who contend the Elgin Democrat downloaded sexually graphic videos and images of them.
Farnham, 68, was sentenced in March 2015 to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of trading thousands of images and videos of child pornography depicting victims as young as toddlers.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago this week, two girls, both still minors and using the pseudonyms "Erin" and "Fiona," accused Farnham of storing numerous pornographic images and videos of them on his home computer and a state-owned laptop.
The suit, which asks for damages of at least $150,000, was filed under a federal law enabling victims to recoup money from those who possess child pornography. The suit noted that while serving as a state representative, Farnham co-sponsored two bills to increase penalties for child pornography crimes. He also received "significant campaign contributions" from the child advocacy organization Stand for Children, according to the suit.
"(Farnham) knew or had reason to know that the images he possessed were produced, distributed and trafficked in violation of state and federal child pornography laws, especially since he was a co -- sponsor of similar laws in the Illinois General Assembly," the lawsuit said.
Both girls were notified that their images were found on Farnham's computers in a letter from federal prosecutors last February, court records show.
Farnham resigned his seat in 2014 just days after federal agents seized computers from his state office and home. In his guilty plea, he admitted to storing on his computers more than 2,750 images of child pornography as well as graphic videos of victims as young as 2 or 3.
