A Chicago veterinarian and dog breeder was arrested in an FBI operation for sharing child pornography and making disturbing comments about his soon-to-be-born child.
Adam Stafford King, an Elburn veterinary ophthalmologist, was charged with knowingly distributing child pornography following a months-long investigation.
The Elburn man has a history of viewing explicit images of children dating back to at least 2017, according to court documents.
The charges stem from an incident that began in September 2023, when King began communicating with a New York man through the gay dating app Scruff.
He and the man spoke interchangeably on the app and encrypted messaging service Telegram, with King using the handle ‘pervchidude’.
Adam Stafford King, seen in a photo of his driver’s license, has been charged with knowingly distributing child pornography following an investigation led by the FBI.
The Illinois man breeds dogs under the name ‘Askin Havenese’ and was scheduled to appear as a judge at the 2024 Westminster Dog Show.
In disturbing messages to a New York-based informant – whose account was later taken over by the FBI – King expressed his desire to sexually assault his unborn child and shared photos of baby clothes.
In those communications, King indicated that both men identified themselves as ‘perverts.’ According to the FBI, the term is often used to describe “someone interested in pedophilia.”
King spoke of his interest in minor children on several occasions. In one message, he professed that “single digits,” meaning children under the age of 10, were his “favorites.”
The veterinarian clarified that he liked boys and girls from 0 to 9 years old, but he preferred boys.
The FBI discovered the New Yorker’s messages with King in October 2023, after executing a search warrant on his electrical devices. Ultimately, the agency was given control of the accounts, and an undercover agent took on the role of the New York man.
King wrote extensively about his experience abusing children. In a message from November 2023, he described himself as a “dude” and added: “I play with nephews and nieces. I’ve done almost everything.
He described how he would sedate children before abusing them, writing, “I generally use Benadryl,” noting that it provides a “wide margin of safety” and “I typically double the adult dose.”
King also dropped several clues about his identity, including that he and his husband were expecting a child in the spring via a surrogate.
She clarified that her husband, Lucas, was a “non-pervert” or not sexually attracted to children.
The Elburn man wrote extensively about his experience abusing children, including his nephews and nieces, and detailing how he sedated them with Benadryl.
He bragged about ‘possessing a large collection of child pornography’ to undercover FBI agent
In some of the most shocking messages, King expressed interest in sexually assaulting his son after he was born.
“I love the idea of inviting a friend over when I have my son… it just has to be someone I can trust, obviously… I plan to get my d*** with him ASAP,” the man wrote. Elburn.
On two occasions he implied that the undercover agent should participate in the abuse.
“Maybe you can meet my boy,” she wrote. “Maybe we’ll have to come visit my son when he’s born.”
On two separate occasions, King shared ultrasound photos of the fetus. She also shared a photo of baby clothes that she attached to the complaint.
The veterinarian also boasted of ‘possessing a large collection of child pornography’ that he stored on his Telegram account.
In subsequent conversations between December 2023 and January 2024, King revealed that he was an eye doctor. “I love the eyes,” he once wrote.
Towards the end of January, he finally revealed his name and wrote: ‘Adam here!’
At the time he was working as a staff ophthalmologist at MedVet Chicago and had been named leader of the network’s national Ophthalmology Department.
King also sent a photo of his penis while wearing what appeared to be a blue robe, according to the complaint.
In March, the FBI executed a federal search warrant at King’s home in Elburn. Despite “multiple verbal announcements of the FBI’s presence,” King remained in the shower with his iPhone, the complaint states.
He declined an interview but provided the password to his phone. Stored on that device were Several images that had been sent by Telegram.
“For example, the FBI discovered the ultrasound photograph that the Chicago subject sent to the New York subject,” the complaint reads.
King’s husband, Lucas, identified the photograph as that of their unborn child and confirmed that he was expected to be born around March 29.
Lucas and King married in 2016 and settled into a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in rural Elburn.
The couple met when King was completing his veterinary residency at Colorado State University. At the time, Lucas was a pastor at a church in Longmont, but has since moved to churches in Illinois, including one in Aurora.
While conducting a search of King’s home, officers saw the same baby clothes that had appeared in a photograph shared on Telegram.
In 2017, police officers questioned the veterinarian after learning that he had uploaded two images of suspected child pornography using a Gmail account traced to his home.
A year after the couple married, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office received a notice that a Gmail user based in the state had uploaded two images of alleged child pornography.
Police traced the IP address to the home King shared with her husband. There, Ella King admitted that she had a Gmail address with the same name and that she was registered on a site that she used to view pornography.
An officer noted that “Adam seemed very nervous and reluctant to answer questions” during the encounter, according to a report.
The officers eventually determined they had “no legal basis” to search King’s electronic devices and left.
In addition to his work as a veterinarian, King also breeds Havenese dogs under the name ‘Askin Havanese’. Before the shocking allegations came to light, he was scheduled to serve as a judge for the 2024 Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
The Elburn man received several character letters in his defense. Among his supporters were two former classmates, his aunt, his father, and his in-laws.
A former classmate, Jessica Ward, wrote: “I am so excited for Adam and Lucas to welcome (their son’s name) into their lives, and I am sure they will be exceptional parents surrounded by a wide circle of support.” of friends and family.’
King’s father, John, a former law enforcement officer, described his son as someone who was “not deceitful” and had “an aura of decency and integrity.”
Lucas’s parents wrote a letter supporting their son-in-law.
“We couldn’t be prouder or more supportive of Adam if he were our own son,” it said. “In a world where dishonesty, division, hatred and impatience have become all too common, we need more Adam Kings.”
It is unclear what will happen to the couple’s child, who is expected to be born via a surrogate mother in Sacramento in the coming days.
Under California law, a surrogate mother must convince the child’s parents to voluntarily give up their rights to the child in order to keep the child.