Johnsburg man accused of filming himself abusing child

A Johnsburg man has pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing a child and filming it on top of facing drug- and gun-related charges in separate cases, according to court records and authorities.

Clinton J. Grothendick, 41, is charged with five counts of filming, videotaping or otherwise depicting or portraying images of him sexually abusing a child between the ages of 13 and 17, Class X felonies, according to an indictment filed against him in McHenry County court. A conviction on a Class X felony can carry a prison term of up to 30 years.

Grothendick also is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and possessing images of child sex abuse, according to the indictment, which states that he committed the alleged offenses between 2023 and this year.

He also entered not-guilty pleas earlier this month in two separate cases in which he is charged with the unlawful possession of Suboxone, cocaine, amphetamine and/or dextroamphetamine, psilocybin and methamphetamine, as well as unlawful possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle and a glass pipe, according to indictments in those cases.

He faces additional charges in two other pending case, including manufacturing, distributing, advertising or possessing with the intent to deliver two baggies with a total of 34.9 grams of a look-alike substance and possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine, court records show. He also is accused of unlawfully possessing a digital scale containing a white powdery residue, according to the criminal complaint.