COOK COUNTY, IL – A Hanover Park man who believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl for sex is now facing multiple felony charges including traveling to meet a minor and grooming following an investigation by the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Special Victims Unit, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.
Earlier this month, John B. Schulz, 36, of the 7400 block of Brookside Drive in Hanover Park, initiated a conversation on a social media app with an undercover SVU investigator posing as a 15-year-old girl.
Over the course of several days, Schulz sent sexually explicit messages to the undercover investigator, including images of his penis and videos of him engaged in sex acts. After Schulz expressed a desire to meet for sex, investigators arranged to meet him on Thursday, May 26, in a strip mall parking lot in Des Plaines.
When Schulz arrived at the location at the agreed upon time, SVU investigators began to approach the vehicle, but Schulz sped away. The investigators relocated to Schulz’s home and placed him under arrest when he returned to the residence.
After being advised of his Miranda Rights, Schulz told investigators he believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and intended to engage in sex acts in his vehicle.
Today, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges of Class 3 Felony Traveling to Meet a Minor, Class 4 Felony Grooming, and Class 4 Manufacturing Harmful Material.
Schulz is scheduled to appear in the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building on Saturday, May 28, for a bond hearing on the charges.
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the government in a court of law.
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