Wheaton Man Pleads Guilty To Charges In Aurora Child Sex Sting

WHEATON, IL -- A Wheaton man pleaded guilty Friday to setting up a sexual encounter with a child. According to the Kane County Sheriff's Office, Jarrett Ferguson, 27, of the 1300 block of Naperville Road, is the 14th person to be convicted in a child sex investigation that has been led jointly by Aurora Police and the Department of Homeland Security since 2014.

Authorities say that on March 10, 2017, Ferguson drove to a location in Aurora under the assumption that he would "have a sexual encounter with a minor or minors." He was arrested and taken into custody and then later released on a signature bond.

On Friday, Ferguson pleaded guilty to a felony charge of traveling to meet a minor.

Ferguson was sentenced to three years in prison and must register as a sex offender for 10 years, Kane County officials said.

Ferguson is one of 14 people who have been arrested and convicted after five investigations conducted by Aurora Police and the Department of Homeland Security involving child sex trafficking. Each person charged in connection with the investigations has been sentenced to prison time, officials said.

After Ferguson's sentence was handed down, Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon said, "Human trafficking and child sex exploitation is a very real problem that exists in every community. In these cases, in which no children were ever present or in danger, we were able to expose individuals who sought to exploit children for sexual purposes and bring them to justice."