Mt. Prospect police arrest St. Charles man accused of soliciting girl

A St. Charles man who prosecutors say used social media and email to solicit a teenage girl for a sexual encounter was ordered held on $125,000 bail Thursday.

Keith Aarseth, 60, is charged with indecent solicitation of a minor, traveling to meet a minor and unlawful grooming.

Prosecutors did not say how Aarseth met the 16-year-old girl, who they say began chatting online with Aarseth on Feb. 15 using her high school email account. During the conversations, Aarseth asked to meet the girl, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maureen McGee.

After learning of the communication on Feb. 15, school officials notified the girl's parents and Mount Prospect police, McGee said. A Mount Prospect detective took over the account and continued the email correspondence, which included explicit messages and an offer from Aarseth to perform a sex act, McGee said.

Since November 2016, Aarseth had occasionally served as a substitute teacher for secondary students in Elgin Area School District U-46, said U-46 communications director Mary Fergus. The district performed a full background check on Aarseth before he began substitute teaching in the district, Fergus said.

McGee said Aarseth has no criminal background. But she asked Cook County Judge Joseph Cataldo to impose special conditions if Aarseth should post bond. He is prohibited from contacting the girl, cannot have contact with minors and cannot be at a school when they are present. In addition, he is prohibited from using a cellphone or the internet.

Aarseth next appears in court on March 16. If convicted of the most serious charge, he faces up to five years in prison.