MORGAN PARK — Jim Sonntag, owner of a Beverly art studio, pleaded not guilty Monday morning to 26 charges of possession and dissemination of child pornography.
Sonntag, a Morgan Park resident, appeared before Judge Colleen Hyland at the Cook County Courthouse in south suburban Bridgeview along with his lawyer, Robert Parchem.
Kristen Sonntag sat with her arm around her husband as the couple waited for the case to be called. Prior to going before the judge, she called the charges against her husband "bogus" and said her family's life has been upended since his arrest June 15.
"They know it is some kind of snafu. It's just going to be a pain to get through," Kristen Sonntag said outside the courtroom.
But Assistant State's Attorney Julie Nikolaevskaya said after the arraignment that she's satisfied with the charges. She expects the two sides to continue to exchange information for the next three months. The next court date is set for Aug. 30 back in Bridgeview.
"I know what the evidence is, and I am confident in what I have," Nikolaevskaya said.
Sonntag, of the 2300 block of West 110th Place, was arrested in suburban Evergreen Park after a lengthy investigation by the Cook County State's Attorney's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) said two days after the arrest.
Sonntag's bond was set at $750,000. He paid 10 percent of that and was released June 17. Sonntag lives across the street from Clissold Elementary School in Morgan Park.
Jim and Kristen Sonntag opened Kunsthaus in April 2014. She said the art studio at 10552 S. Western Ave. will close at the end of the month. Most of the art supplies and equipment were sold over the weekend.
"We are completely unemployed," said Kristen Sonntag, adding that her husband has lost his full-time job as well as a pair of other part-time jobs in the wake of the arrest.
She said the sale helped her family a bit financially, and it also helped to hear so many words of encouragement from local artists who showed up as well as other small business owners from the Beverly area.
In fact, she said several supporters offered her donations at the sale that Kristen Sonntag advertised on Facebook under the heading, "Come on out and help a family eat." To that end, she said others have dropped off groceries at their door and still others have offered their prayers.
"The first two weeks especially, I cried a whole lot. First from panic, but equally as much from the outpouring from people," she said.
Kristen Sonntag reiterated that her husband was innocent and said several women she knows from the neighborhood said they refuse to believe the charges, adding that her husband never made anyone feel uncomfortable.
"As a women, you grow up knowing" about men to be leery of, she said. "It's a sixth sense."
Kristen Sonntag said she looks forward to her husband's opportunity to defend himself in court. Still, she expects that the courtroom procedures could take upwards of two years. Though Parchem said he believes her husband will be vindicated in the end.
"This isn't us," she said. "No matter how bogus we feel it is, the stakes are really high."
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