Michigan Man Tries to Meet IL 'Child' for Sexual Relationship: Police

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A Michigan man, visiting the Chicago area for work, is accused of attempting to meet up with an underage girl. Kyle J. Conner, 36, of Ferndale, Michigan, is being charged with three felonies in connection with the incident and was arrested Thursday, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Conner is being charged with felony indecent solicitation of a child, traveling to meet a minor and distributing harmful material. He was due in court Friday morning.

The LCSO's criminal investigations division worked with Naval Criminal Investigative Service on the case. According to LCSO, Conner was communicating with an undercover detective online, who was posing as a girl under the age of 15. During the conversations, police said Conner asked the "child" for nude images of herself and also sent her sexually explicit images of himself. He then made arrangements to meet the "girl" for a sexual encounter, according to police.

On Thursday, Conner was in the Chicagoland area, working at a convention. According to police, he finalized his plan to meet the "girl" for sex and drove to meet her. Instead of meeting the girl, Conner met detectives and was arrested without incident. Ferndale is located about 12 miles north of Detroit.

"Over the last several months, our detectives and Special Investigations Group in collaboration with our federal partners have arrested a number of adults who try and meet children for sex," Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said in a statement. "We are going to continue being aggressive in seeking those who prey on our children."