Antioch man faces online grooming charges

A 28-year-old Antioch man accused of sending sexually explicit pictures to an underage victim and attempting to groom the boy online now is facing charges, officials said.

Jared Lorenzen, of the 800 block of Mockingbird Drive, was taken into custody by Antioch police at his home Thursday evening. The underage boy Lorenzen thought he was communicating with actually was an undercover Mundelein police detective assisting Antioch with the investigation, police said.

According to police, Lorenzen in November started grooming the person - who he believed to be a 14-year-old boy - to engage in sexual conduct.

Lorenzen sent pornographic images of himself and also elicited them, according to police. He was charged with two counts of grooming and one count of having harmful material; his bond was set at $500,000, police said.

A loaded gun was found during a search of Lorenzen's home, and he doesn't have a FOID card, police said, The Lake County state's attorney's office is reviewing the case and will determine whether Lorenzen also will be facing a gun charge.

Antioch police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow says keeping children safe is a priority, and a strong message needs to be sent to child predators.

"Let this incident serve as a warning to anyone who may be considering engaging in this sort of activity; law enforcement is watching and we will use every legal means necessary to prevent you from harming our children," Guttschow said. "You will be caught and we will arrest you."

He also advised parents to educate themselves and their children about the dangers of engaging with strangers online.

"The anonymity of the internet makes it easy for sexual predators to seek out potential victims," Guttschow said.

Here are some online safety tips for parents:

• Educate yourself about the websites and social media apps your child uses.

• Monitor your child's social media accounts and have conversations with them about what is appropriate to say and share.

• Make sure your child's account privacy settings are set to restrict access to any personal information.

• Tell your child to never share their location with anyone other than family.

• Tell your child to avoid communicating with anyone they do not personally know.

• Ensure your child knows they can come to you with any inappropriate or concerning activity.