Algonquin man charged with grooming a minor for sex

An Algonquin man was charged Friday with trying to meet a minor for sexual gratification, after a suspicious bystander flagged down police at a Starbucks on North Avenue in Carol Stream.

Roger Rice, 63, of the 1500 block of Meghan Avenue, is charged with one count of grooming and one count of traveling to meet a minor, according to DuPage County court records. As of Saturday afternoon, he was being held in the DuPage County jail on $25,000 bail.

He was arrested by Carol Stream police at 10 a.m. Friday.

The charges accuse him of using electronic communications to entice, solicit, lure or seduce a minor in to committing illegal sexual conduct.

According to a news release from the DuPage County State's Attorney's office, a bystander in the Starbucks parking lot at North and Schmale Road alerted police.

Rice was there to meet someone he believed to be 15-year-old boy for sex, according to the news release. They met on an internet dating site.

"This case is yet another example of how sexual predators target our children and should serve as a reminder to parents to discuss with their children the dangers lurking on the internet," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in the news release.