Highland Park Man Solicited Sex From Young Girl On Snapchat: Cops

GLENVIEW, IL — A Highland Park man is accused of requesting sex and nude photos from girls as young as 12 years old he contacted on social media. After receiving three complaints earlier this month from Glenview residents that a man had been propositioning girls under 15 on Snapchat, an undercover detective arranged to meet the man at The Glen Town Center, where he was arrested Tuesday, police said.

Robert Gould, 62, of the 400 block of Burton Avenue, has been charged with soliciting child pornography, indecent solicitation of a child, traveling to meet a minor to engage in a sex offense and grooming, according to Glenview police.

Detectives identified Gould after he began a private conversation with another juvenile Snapchat user, taking over the child's account to communicate with him directly, Cmdr. Jason Saikin said in a release issued after Gould's bond hearing.

"During the conversations, the undercover detective, posing as the victim, established that she was 13 years old," while Gould claimed he was a 50- to 60-year-old man, according to Saikin. "Gould propositioned the undercover detective, whom he believed to be a 13-year-old female, to engage in sexual conduct and meet in person in the 1900 block of Tower Drive."

Gould was arrested when he arrived at the agreed-upon location, Saikin said. He appeared in court on Thursday in Skokie and was ordered held in lieu of a $20,000 cash portion of his bond, which he provided that day. No further information on his conditions of bail was immediately available from the Cook County Sheriff's Office.