Carol Stream man pleads innocent in sex case

A Carol Stream man accused of soliciting undercover police officers for sex with a minor has denied the charges against him.

Frank Descetto, 60, was taken into custody on Aug. 25 after two officers posing as a pimp and a teenage girl arrived at his apartment on the 500 block of Red Hill Trail.

During a Monday court appearance in front of Judge John Kinsella, Descetto pleaded innocent to patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution, solicitation of a sex act and attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child.

Descetto was being held at the DuPage County jail. Kinsella reset bail to $150,000, meaning Descetto would have to post $15,000 to be released from the jail.

The bail was changed after Descetto’s defense attorney, Tom O’Connor, argued that the original amount of $350,000 was too high.

O’Connor said his client has financial and personal issues. Descetto has seen his life “crumbling around him” while in jail, according to O’Connor.

Assistant State’s Attorney Demetri Demopoulos tried to convince the judge to leave the bail amount at $350,000.

Demopoulos described Descetto as a potential flight risk. He also said Descetto, who has been ordered by a judge to have no contact with children, poses a “significant risk” to the community.

Descetto was arrested by members of the DuPage Sheriff’s multijurisdictional Tactical Narcotics Team working in conjunction with West Chicago police.

Police opened the investigation after receiving a tip that Descetto was inquiring about having sexual relations with a minor.

In a series of recorded phone calls, Descetto had agreed to pay $500 for sex with a 15- or 16-year-old girl, authorities said. Officers recorded Descetto giving graphic details of what he intended to do with a child prostitute and requesting that they smoke marijuana during the encounter, according to prosecutors.