A Taylorville man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting to soliciting child pornography.
In Christian County Court this week, 22-year-old Jacob Semerau of Taylorville pleaded guilty to one count of solicitation of child pornography as part of a negotiated plea agreement with prosecutors. The court accepted the plea and dismissed the remaining charges that had been filed against him earlier this year.

Court records show Semerau was sentenced to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by three years to natural life of mandatory supervised release. He will be required to serve the sentence at 50 percent, and was given 240 days of credit for time he has already spent in the Christian County Jail.

The sentencing order also addressed fines and fees. The court reduced the statutory fine to zero based on Semerau’s pretrial incarceration credit and determined that the remaining assessments were uncollectible, vacating those costs.

Semerau was first arrested in March of 2025 after an investigation by Taylorville Police. According to earlier reports, officers alleged that Semerau had been communicating with a 13-year-old and had solicited the minor to send sexual videos. The arrest resulted in multiple charges, including aggravated criminal sexual abuse and child pornography counts, before the negotiated plea resolved the case with a conviction on the solicitation charge.

With the sentencing now complete, Semerau will be transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections to begin serving his term.