South Beloit man pleads guilty to child pornography charges
Tony Dusso had been a Lutheran pastor for 25 years.
A South Beloit man has pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing pornographic videos of a 12 year old child. Anthony L. Dusso, 53, was sentenced to 48 months probation and $2,500 in fines and fees. His prison sentence was "time served" - he had been incarcerated for 201 days, or more than six months in the Winnebago County Jail, from his arrest on March 13, 2025 until his sentencing on Sept. 30.
A graduate of the University of Michigan and Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, Dusso served as a pastor in northeast Ohio, the Chicago metroplex, and in Rockford and Beloit. Most recently, he was pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Beloit.
Our columnist Gary Schwerin, who works with a variety of pastors through his organization Bridge Ministries of Rockford, told us, "I think sin is sin, and addiction is addiction, and the stronger the addiction, the harder to overcome it, even for people of deep faith. I would know. I’m a sinner, too."
Dusso was born in Wisconsin and raised in Michigan. He and his wife have been married for more than 20 years, with three adult children in college. Two family members served on the church staff with him. The family moved into their new home three years ago, in the City of South Beloit, in Roscoe Township, on the edge of a subdivision, adjacent to large cornfields.
After Dusso's arrest in March 2025, another congregation with a similar name, Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Roscoe, stated, "The recent news involving Anthony Dusso of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Beloit, WI, is deeply troubling. We want to express our sincere prayers for all individuals affected."
On his church website, Dusso's biography said he drew "inspiration from the writings of Martin Luther, Benedict of Nursia, Howard Thurman, Dallas Willard, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and he considers Dietrich Bonhoeffer his mentor. His passion for teaching and preaching focuses on the gospel, discipleship, and drawing grace from our ever-faithful God."
Before taking the position at the Beloit church, Dusso was Associate Pastor for Discipleship at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Rockford, Illinois. The church said in a 2019 newsletter, "The Associate Pastor Call Committee has unanimously and enthusiastically recommended Pastor Tony Dusso for Call to join the staff at Our Savior's. Their endorsement of Pastor Tony described him as dynamic, engaging, genuine, with a deep-rooted Lutheran faith."
As pastor, Dusso posted frequent, encouraging video messages on Facebook. In February 2025, he said, "Today, the physical, flesh-and-blood presence of Christ in the world is the church: the visible-church community."
Dusso was convicted of two counts of possessing pornographic videos of a 12 year old child. Assistant State's Attorney Kirstin Krivanec, who was also the prosecutor in the Aidyn Hansen case, decided he shouldn't be charged with distributing or creating the child pornography.
At the sentencing, Judge Scott Paccagnini was required to tell Dusso that he could be deported if he wasn't a US citizen (which he is) and that he had to surrender any firearms and his FOID card (unknown if he had either). Dusso must register as a child sex offender for the rest of his life.
