Waukegan police said that a man has been arrested after he approached a teenage girl waiting for a bus and then later sent her a lewd photo.
On Tuesday at about 8:00 a.m., the Waukegan Police Department said that a teen girl was approached by a male adult suspect while the girl was waiting for her school. The suspect, later identified as Charles Reed, 34, of Waukegan, approached the victim at the corner of Beach Road and Bertrand Lane in Waukegan.
Reed gave the victim his phone number and asked for her to send him texts, police said. The victim and her family notified the Waukegan Police Department about the incident.
The next day on Wednesday, the Waukegan Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office Cyber Crimes Division (LCSAO-CCD) participated in a joint undercover operation, authorities said.
Investigators posed as the teen girl. Reed sent a lewd image to the undercover officer and then requested to meet. At around 3:00 p.m. Reed was taken into custody without incident in the 3900 block of Bertrand Lane by the Waukegan Police Department, according to Waukegan Police Department Commander Joe Florip.
Reed is currently in custody at the Lake County Jail on a $25,000 bond. He is being charged with one count of solicitation to meet a child. Reed will appear in court again on October 11 at 1:30 p.m..