Man, 56, Busted In Crest Hill By Detective Posing As Boy, 13

JOLIET, IL - A 56-year-old Oak Lawn man is accused of driving to Crest Hill to hook up with a 13-year-old boy he thought he had met on the internet. But when David H. Anderson arrived near the McDonald's restaurant in Crest Hill, court records show, the 13-year-old boy wasn't there. Instead, Anderson encountered a Will County Sheriff's detective and was taken away in handcuffs.

Anderson now finds himself charged with three felonies: traveling to meet a minor, indecent solicitation of a child and unlawful grooming. He is accused of using his computer's online services to solicit a person he believed to be a 13-year-old boy for the purposes of committing sexual abuse. Court records reflect that Anderson's online communications with the Will County police detective that Anderson thought to be a 13-year-old boy began around Jan. 12 and lasted through July 6.

On July 7, Anderson, who lives in the 11000 block of South Kenneth Avenue, in suburban Oak Lawn, was hauled off to the Will County Adult Detention Facility in Joliet's downtown. Days later, Anderson posted $5,000, or 10 percent, of his $50,000 bond. He has hired a private defense attorney, David Fewkes of Palos Heights. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 9 inside the Will County Courthouse.

Joliet Patch has reached out to Anderson's attorney for comment.

As a condition of his bond, the judge has barred Anderson from having contact with any children. The Oak Lawn man is also restricted from logging onto a computer and the internet, except for legal purposes and to correspond with his private defense attorney, court records show.

Booking mugshot of David H. Anderson provided by Will County Sheriff's Department