Jeffrey Wormsley - currently in jail, Wheaton Illinois |
Police say a Web site for child models was a front for child pornography. The site appeared to promote careers for girls, but instead police found illegal images on computers.
NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski said customs agents and Lockport police caught up with Jeffrey Wormsley in the parking lot of a Target store in Joliet.
The 22-year-old Plainfield man is now being held on 10 counts of child pornography in connection with the work he did for the Web site.
While the site claims to be part of a modeling agency for girls and young women, authorities say it also included pictures of naked children and children engaged in sexual conduct.
Wormsley's wife said the pictures were not taken locally, but were imported from photographers in Russia and Brazil.
"I don't think he did it. I think our boss left the country so he would not get in trouble for it," Stella Wormsley said. "(He) left us all in trouble."
The boss, who has not been charged, operated the business and the Web site from his Lockport house. Neither he nor his attorney was available for comment.
Wojciechowski said that this arrest may be part of a larger investigation.
The Will County State's Attorney declined to comment further on Wormsley's arrest, but admits that the investigation into the alleged child pornography site is still under way.
Jeffrey Wormsely remains in jail, his wife unable to come up with the $5,000 to get him out..."
The website in question was Willey Studios, a child modeling agency owned by Greg Willey of Lockport, Illinois:
An archived mirror of the Willey Studios website |
Today, Willey Studios continues to operate, these days under several other titles also, such as "Agency Modeling" and "Lite Photography." This agency, whatever you want to call it, is also co-administered by Tim Oliver AKA Bat21 of Hammond, Indiana.
The Jeff Wormsely affair wasn't Willey Studios only brush with the law; In 2007, Antônio August of Brazil was arrested for his involvement with the website. August operated as a photographer for Willey Studios.
Antônio August of Brazil |