Warrant: Aurora man charged with abusing teen wondered if meeting was police sting
A 49-year-old Aurora man charged with sexually abusing a teenage boy he met on a dating app for gay men confessed to police and even asked his victim if he was going to be in a TV crime show sting, according to a recently unsealed search warrant.
"Why do I feel like I'm gonna be on: to catch a predator," Ronald J. Lye, of the 1600 block of Fairwood Place, asks the 13-year-old during a message exchange in late April, according to the search warrant.
Lye was arrested in early May on 13 felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and two counts of traveling to meet a minor.
Prosecutors say that multiple times since April 1, Lye drove to the teen's house, picked him up, went to Lye's house and had sexual contact with the teen.
According to the search warrant, the victim's parents caught the boy sneaking out of the house May 7; the teen told his parents he was headed to a house owned by a 32-year-old man named Ron whom he met on social media.
The teen's parents found out where Lye lived and took their son to the Kane County Child Advocacy Center on May 8 for an interview.
The teen told investigators how he met Ron, who went by the user name "Friends & more," on the app Grindr, according to the search warrant.
The parents gave police permission to search the boy's phone, where authorities found messages and photos exchanged by the two. The messages included Lye's asking the teen if he was going to be part of a police sting, along with a message saying they had an "unforgettable" night in late April, according to the warrant.
Dye was arrested May 9 and "admitted to the sexual relationship" with the teen, according to the warrant.
Lye's defense attorney, Fred Morelli, could not be reached for comment.
Lye is being held at the Kane County jail on $275,000 bail, meaning he must post $27,500 to be released while the case is pending. If he does post bond, he is to have no contact with minors.
He is next due in court June 18. If convicted of the most severe charges, he faces a sentence ranging from probation to up to seven years in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender.