NAPERVILLE (STMW) — Naperville police are being credited with helping their counterparts in downstate Madison County identify and arrest a man who allegedly tried to arrange a meeting with a young girl over the Internet while posing as a Roman Catholic priest.
Robert D. Shaw, 41, of Alton remained in custody Saturday in Madison County Jail in Edwardsville. He faces trial on three felony counts of indecent solicitation of a child and one of grooming, according to Sheriff Robert J. Hertz.
Shaw came under suspicion Dec. 15, after Madison County investigators received information from Naperville police, according to Capt. Brad Wells, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office’s chief of detectives. The information alleged Shaw “was having an online chat with an undercover (Naperville) officer,” Wells said in a written statement.
Rich Wistocki, a computer crimes unit investigator with the Naperville Police Department, confirmed Friday he first came into contact with the man who would ultimately be identified as Shaw in late November or early December in an Internet chat room. Wistocki was masquerading as a 13-year-old girl at the time.
“I got information (Shaw) was posing as a priest online and looking for young girls to take pictures of,” Wistocki said. “Lo and behold, he hooked onto me, saying he wanted me to take inappropriate pictures of myself and (meet) for a sexual encounter.”
Wistocki passed that information and potential evidence along to investigators in Madison County. Wells said Shaw, in the guise of a priest, “made at least three indecent solicitations for sexual acts and tried to arrange a meeting with the child …”
Sheriff’s investigators executed a search warrant Thursday morning at Shaw’s home, during which they seized a personal computer and took Shaw into custody for questioning, Wells said. His statement did not indicate what, if anything, detectives found on the computer.
Bond for Shaw was set at $60,000. His arraignment date is pending in Madison County Circuit Court.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
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