BLOOMINGTON - A Gridley man whose conviction for child pornography was reversed by the appellate court is waiting to be released from prison on a personal recognizance bond.

The Illinois Supreme Court approved the bond Tuesday for Jeffrey L. Shoemaker. The 53-year-old man was convicted in an April 2007 bench trial of creating child pornography. The charges related to photos returned to Shoemaker by a Wal-Mart store in June 2006. The photos depicted young boys who attended a birthday party Shoemaker hosted for his young son at his Gridley home.

The bond will allow him to be free while prosecutors challenge the appellate ruling. Shoemaker has served about one year of a four-year prison term on the conviction.

Shoemaker, who was store manager of the Children's Discovery Museum in Normal at the time of his arrest, admitted taking the photos. At trial, Shoemaker testified that he believed his actions were inappropriate but denied he posed or directed the five underage boys.

An agreement at trial between prosecutors and the defense outlined a stipulation that Shoemaker did not direct the boys, who were in the process of getting ready for bed. That stipulation was cited by the 4th District Appellate Court in its reversal of the conviction.

While Shoemaker showed bad judgment, the lack of direction supported the father's contention that the photos depicted spontaneous activity and not lewd behavior, said the court.

After the ruling, McLean County State's Attorney Bill Yoder said his office would ask the Illinois Supreme Court to revisit the standard for child pornography cases.

In a challenge to the ruling, the state criticized the appellate court, saying justices "failed to credit trial court's careful findings and analysis."