A Normal man who worked as a piano teacher remains jailed on more than 100 counts of child pornography and criminal sexual assault of a minor.
Michael D. Schneider, 33, faces 131 counts of child pornography accusing him of possessing illegal images of a victim under 13 and an additional 15 counts of possession of child pornography.
Six counts of criminal sexual assault involving a teenager, enticing a child to remove their clothing and distribution of explicit material to a minor also were recently filed against Schneider.
Schneider was being held in lieu of $200,035.
The suspect’s arrest on July 14 followed a four-month investigation by Normal police into allegations of misconduct by Schneider, who previously worked as a piano teacher and a choir director for St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington.
According to Normal police, detectives opened an investigation after receiving information that Schneider allegedly abused a minor in Normal. Police found illegal images of children on electronic storage devices collected from Schneider’s home in the 1800 block of Hoover Drive in Normal, said police.
An Aug. 6 arraignment is set.
In a statement following Schneider’s arrest, police asked anyone with information involving juvenile victims in any case to contact Normal police at (309) 454-9535.
