Despite headlines, U.S. violent crime down
Despite some headlines that paint a picture of a world in chaos and despair, violent crime is down across the United States.
That's one conclusion that the FBI was trumpeting last week when it released its annual, nationwide crime statistics from 2013.
Property crimes also dipped 4.1 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, the 11th yearly decrease in a row, the FBI said.
The agency's Uniform Crime Reporting considers murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault as violent crimes; burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft are included as crimes against property.
The crime statistics - data from some 18,400-plus law enforcement agencies - show a downward trend.
The 1.16 million violent crimes reported in 2013 were nearly 12 percent fewer than the 1.31 million reported in 2009, according to the FBI.
Closer to home, the number of felony cases charged in Kane County also has been on the decline.
As of last week, Kane County prosecutors were on pace to charge about 2,335 felony cases - down slightly from 2,342 last year, according to court records.
If 2014's pace holds, it'll be a decrease of about 20 percent from the 2,909 felony cases charged in 2011, and an 11 percent dip from the 2,620 felony cases charged in 2012, according to court records.
While not every felony is a violent crime, the year-to-year decline can be viewed as encouraging.
Probation in cyber abuse case
A Huntley man must register as a sex offender and stay out of trouble for three years under a recent plea agreement stemming from allegations he tried to lure a 12-year-old over the Internet to have sex with him, according to Kane County court records.
Shawn M. Egan, 36, of the 12000 block of Tahoe Drive, recently pleaded guilty to indecent solicitation of a child over the Internet, a felony, records show.
Egan was fined $3,190 and put on probation for three years. He can be resentenced to up to three years in prison if he violates probation.
Egan, who was accused of discussing an act of sexual conduct with the minor in October 2012, must follow recommendations of a sex offender evaluation, can have no contact with the victim nor unsupervised contact with minors, records show.
Judge Clint Hull accepted the plea deal in which prosecutors dismissed more serious charges that carried up to 15 years in prison, records show. Egan had no previous arrests prior to this case.
hhitzeman@dailyherald.com