High Technology Crimes Unit arrests Chicago man on Indecent Solicitation of a Child, Traveling to Meet a Minor charges

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June 11

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a British citizen who is a permanent resident of the United States has been arrested and charged with Indecent Solicitation of a Child.

Charles F. Bocock, 35, who lives in the 4100 block of North Tripp in Chicago, was arrested Monday at the conclusion of a three-week investigation headed by State’s Attorney Glasgow’s High Technology Crimes Unit in conjunction with the Plainfield Police Department, the Naperville Police Department and the Chicago Police Department as well as the Illinois Crimes Against Children Task Forces from both Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s offices.

The investigation was launched after Bocock responded to an advertisement on craiglist.com posted by a Plainfield resident who was seeking monetary help to make his car payment. The Plainfield resident contacted police after receiving Bocock’s response. Investigators from the High Technology Crimes Unit assumed the Plainfield resident’s Internet identity.

Bocock arranged with undercover detectives for a rendezvous with someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl. The defendant was arrested at a Plainfield Dunkin’ Donuts in the 13300 block of Illinois 59 on Monday afternoon.

The Indecent Solicitation of a Child charge alleges Bocock, with the intent of committing the offense of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault, used a cellular telephone to solicit a child under the age of 17, which was actually the 12-year-old female persona used by investigators from the High Technology Crimes Unit. The charge is a Class 1 felony that carries a penalty of four to 15 years in prison upon conviction.

Bocock also was charged with:

  • Traveling to Meet a Minor, Class 3 Felony. The charge alleges he traveled to Plainfield “for the purpose of engaging in the offense of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child” with the girl he believed to be 12-years-old.
  • Unlawful Grooming, Class 4 Felony. The charge alleges he used a cellular phone to solicit the girl he believed to be 12-years-old to engage in an act of sexual penetration.

Investigators executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Chicago house and seized his computers. The case remains under investigation by the ICAC Task Forces.

Bocock appeared in court Tuesday afternoon where bond as set at $1 million. He must post $100,000 or 10 percent to secure his release while he is awaiting trial. As a condition of his bond, he also must surrender his passport, not have contact with anyone under 18 and not use the Internet. His next court date is July 2 at the Will County Courthouse, 14 W. Jefferson Street in Courtroom 405.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office reminds the public that charges are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.