A Christian County man is facing serious charges after a months-long investigation by the Illinois State Police.

44-year-old William C. Wanless of Edinburg was arrested June 12th and is being held in the Christian County Jail. He faces two Class X felony counts and one Class 1 felony count of possessing child pornography with the intent to distribute.

State Police special agents with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began their investigation in March. During the investigation, digital evidence was uncovered linking Wanless to child sexual abuse material at his home.

Authorities from ISP, the Edinburg Police Department, and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office executed a search warrant last week and took Wanless into custody. Charges were filed by the Christian County State’s Attorney.

State Police encourage anyone with information about crimes against children to report it anonymously through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s cyber tip line at report.cybertip.org. Resources for keeping kids safe online and for survivors of abuse are available at onlinesafeonlinesmart.com and missingkids.org.