Plano man charged in Internet sex sting in Elmhurst

Deulberto Bahena thought he would be meeting with a 16-year-old girl when he traveled to Elmhurst on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Instead, the Plano man was greeted by police.

Bahena, 29, of the 3200 block of Hoffman Street, was arrested on a charge of unlawful grooming stemming from an undercover investigation in which a female Elmhurst police officer posed as a 16-year-old girl online, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Bahena had been communicating with the officer for some time when they eventually shared photos and began talking about sex.

The situation culminated Wednesday when Bahena arranged an encounter with his online correspondent, Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Baumann said at a bond hearing Thursday.

“The defendant told the officer he could teach her things,” and discussed condoms, Baumann told Judge Michael Wolfe.

Bahena later acknowledged in a video-recorded interview that he thought the girl was 16 and that he probably would have had sexual contact with her, prosecutors said.

Wolfe set Bahena’s bail at $150,000, meaning he must post $15,000 to bond out. The judge also ordered him to have no contact with minors and barred him from using a computer.

Bahena told the judge he earned $37,000 last year as a construction electrician, but was unlikely to post bond. “I can’t come up with that kind of money,” he said.

His next court date is March 28 before Judge Robert Kleeman.