Lake in the Hills taekwondo instructor gets 18-year prison term for possessing sexual child abuse images

A Lake in the Hills taekwondo instructor pleaded guilty to possessing images of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Allen Nguyen, 30, of Huntley, entered into a negotiated plea of guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography: one count pertaining to a video of a child younger than 18 being sexually abused and another for distributing a video of a child younger than 13 being sexually abused, according to records in the McHenry County court.

For seven years prior to his arrest, Nguyen had been working as an instructor at Ha’s TaeKwonDo Academy in Lake in the Hills, according to a court document.

The guilty plea stems from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force receiving a cyber tip on June 20, 2023, relating to the alleged exchange on Snapchat of videos containing images of child sexual abuse. The Huntley Police Department executed a search warrant for the associated IP address, ultimately leading to Nguyen’s home, authorities said. Multiple electronic devices were located, containing thousands of videos and images of child pornography, according to a news release from the office of McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally.

The arrest came after a four-month investigation, earlier reports said. Additional counts of possessing images of child abuse were dismissed in exchange for the plea, court records show.

Nguyen pleaded guilty to distributing one video depicting a child under the age of 13 years engaged in sex acts with an adult via Snapchat on May 24, 2023, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to possessing one video of a child under the age of 18 years engaged in sex acts with an adult and was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

The sentences are to be served consecutively, and Nguyen is required to serve 50% of the total sentence. Nguyen is also required to register as a sex offender for life. When released from prison, he will be on mandatory supervised release for at least three years and potentially for life. He is getting credit for 256 days in the county jail and an additional 120 days, half a day for each of the 240 days he spent working, volunteering or being involved in self-improvement program, according to a sentencing order. He also must pay fines of $5,300, court records show.

A person reached by phone at Ha’s TaeKwonDo Academy declined comment.