Elk Grove Village man pleads guilty to advertising a woman for sex
An Elk Grove Village man who pleaded guilty to attempting to promote prostitution was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge and ordered to pay $654 in fines, court records show.
Blake Steckel, 31, entered the plea to the misdemeanor charge last week, according to court records. Conditional discharge, similar to probation, does not require incarceration.
Cook County sheriff's police arrested Steckel in March as part of a sting targeting prostitution. Through their investigation, vice officers learned that Steckel placed an online advertisement offering the prostitution services of a woman. Deputies responded to the ad and arrested Steckel. The woman, who authorities consider a victim of sex trafficking, was not charged.
Since 2009, Cook County's vice unit has made 750 arrests resulting from officers responding to online ads from that particular website, according to a statement from Sheriff Tom Dart.