A United States Postal Service employee living in Waukegan has been charged with trying to have a sexual encounter at a Lake Forest public bathroom with a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
Justin Christopher Moland, 38, has officially been charged with a Class 3 felony of Traveling to Meet with a Minor, a Class 4 felony charge of Grooming, and misdemeanor counts of Solicitation to Meet a Minor and Distributing Harmful Material to a Minor, court records show.
According to Lake County court documents, Moland started communicating over social media with a person whom he thought was a 13-year-old girl who turned out to be a special agent with the Northern Criminal Investigating Agency Resident Agency (NCISRA) in Great Lakes.
The investigators put an ad online that Moland responded to in July of 2025, officials said.
Officials said Moland, who went by the username of “Special-Director-107,” made contact with investigators posing as the teen girl, asking, “Did you find what you are looking for? Where are you located?”
Over the course of the next several weeks, officials said Moland contacted agents posing as the teen with additional suggestions and videos, routinely trying to persuade the teen to meet up with him.
In addition, officials said Moland made lewd comments, sent her nude pictures of himself, sent videos of sexual acts taking place, and pushed to get the teen to sneak out of her house.
He also offered to get the child a secret phone and promised to get her food when they meet up, officials said.
During the course of the investigation, Moland was identified as a Waukegan divorced father who was a carrier with the United States Post Office, officials said.
In September, officials said Moland set up a date and time to meet at a public bathroom at Waveland Park in Lake Forest. Moland also discussed with investigators posing as the teen on how to avoid cameras and her parents to ensure she arrived at the site undetected.
Moland left his home on Sept. 3, officials said, went to the park at the prearranged time, and knocked on the bathroom door as agreed upon in the messages.
Investigators were waiting on scene and placed him under arrest, authorities said.
Moland admitted to investigators that he thought the agents were the 13-year-old teen, and he had previously sent nude images of himself.
Officials also said Moland brought a hotel key with him and admitted to purchasing a North Chicago hotel room for the night in case the child wanted privacy.
Moland also admitted he intended to perform sexual acts with the teen, officials said.
Lake County State’s Attorney prosecutors filed a motion to detain Moland until trial. That motion was granted Sept. 5, court records show.
Moland is due back in court on Oct. 9.