A south suburban man has been charged with trying to solicit a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a teenage boy.
Christopher Forster, 63, was charged with indecent solicitation of a child, grooming, traveling to meet a minor and distribution of harmful materials, according to a statement from the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives began investigating after discovering a Craigslist post by Forster in October, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators “initiated an online relationship with Forster.”
Forster, who lives in Peotone, sent “numerous inappropriate and sexually explicit emails and photos” over the course of the investigation, the sheriff’s office said. A meeting was set up Thursday in Crest Hill, where Forster allegedly hoped to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy for a sexual encounter.
When Forster arrived, detectives took him into custody for questioning, according to the sheriff’s office. He was arrested and charged based on “the evidence collected during the investigation and statement that Forster made implicating himself.”
He is being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility pending a bond hearing Friday afternoon, according to the sheriff’s office.