Cary man charged with traveling to meet minor at Shorewood store

Prosecutors have charged a Cary man with traveling to a store in Shorewood to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old girl to engage in unlawful sexual conduct.

On Monday, Will County Judge Ken Zelazo signed a $50,000 bond warrant for the arrest of Jacob Schendel, 24, of Cary, on charges of traveling to Shorewood to meet a child and solicitation to meet a child, court records show.

Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that on May 3, Schendel traveled to the Target store off Route 59 for the "purposes of engaging in any sex offense ... or to otherwise engage in other unlawful sexual conduct" with a person believed by him to be a child under 17.

The child was actually the persona of then-19-year-old Shane Divis, a member of the group Save Our Siblings, according to prosecutors.

Shorewood Deputy Police Chief Jason Barten said police initially received a call from a person at the store who reported a disturbance involving a group of men yelling and screaming at another man about attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl for a sexual encounter.

The Save Our Siblings group later contacted Shorewood police and provided video of the incident, Barten said.

Investigators were able to identify Schendel as the offender and speak with him during the investigation, Barten said.

"We are actively attempting to locate him," Barten said.