Man, 44, Caught Trying To Meet With 15-Year-Old Girl For Sex: New Lenox Police

NEW LENOX, IL — A 44-year-old Chicago man was arrested at Walmart in New Lenox Friday after police said he traveled there intending to meet a teen girl he'd met online for sex but instead was confronted by a group of people who had made a fake profile posing as a 15-year-old girl.

According to a news release, New Lenox Police Officers were dispatched to the Walmart at 501 E. Lincoln Highway just after 7 p.m. July 31 for a report of a disturbance.

Officers at the scene learned a group of people had confronted a man who was reportedly trying to meet with a minor.

According to police, officers learned the group of people had created a profile on an application called MeetMe, posing as a 15-year-old girl.

Police said the group was contacted by a man, later identified as 44-year-old Bryan Marinucci, and they communicated via the application and then through standard text messages. Marinucci exchanged messages with the person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl, and the content of the messages showed Marinucci intended to meet the girl at the New Lenox Walmart to have sexual intercourse, police said.

Officials said the people who created the fake teen profile met Marinucci at the Walmart and confronted him, resulting in a disturbance at the store.

Police said investigators questioned Marinucci, who admitted he thought he was communicating with a 15-year-old girl and arranged to meet her for sex. Investigators were also able to view the text messages Marinucci exchanged with the girl and confirmed he was aware of the girl's age and made several statements of his intentions to meet the girl for sex, officials said.

Marinucci was charged with one count of traveling to meet a child (class 3 felony) and grooming (class 4 felony). He was processed at the New Lenox Police Department and transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility to await a pre-trial detention hearing.