Round Lake man arrested in underage sex sting

A Round Lake man is in custody after going to meet an undercover police detective posing as a 14-year-old boy, authorities announced Thursday.

Steven M. Bastean, 29, of the 1200 block of Canopy Drive, was arrested Monday and charged with indecent solicitation of a child and driving with a revoked license.

Bastean made contact with the detective on a mobile social media app, Lake County sheriff's police said. The detective works with the sheriff's cybercrimes unit, which regularly tries to snare sexual predators who use the Internet to meet victims.

Bastean was arrested after arriving at a parking lot in central Lake County, Sgt. Curtis Gregory said. Gregory declined to further identify the spot, saying it's one of several locations police often use for such stings.

Bastean was in the Lake County jail on $100,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to court Friday.

Although no children were involved in the investigation, Gregory cautioned parents to stay on top of their kids' Internet habits. He had three tips for parents:

• Know what websites your kids visit.

• Monitor their Internet use and their mobile-device use.

• Don't let your kids charge their mobile devices in their rooms at night, to prevent surreptitious web surfing.

“These guys are out there,” Gregory said. “Look how many we arrest. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.”