Sailor gets probation for soliciting a minor

A sailor stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station was placed on probation for two years Friday after pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for sex.

Jason Hamburg, 23, originally from Modesto, Cal., was arrested Dec. 9 for arranging a meeting for sex with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. When Hamburg showed up for the meeting, he discovered the person he had been communicating with in an Internet chat room was actually a Zion police officer.

Hamburg pleaded guilty to indecent solicitation of a minor at a hearing before Associate Judge George Bridges.

Assistant State's Attorney Mary Stanton said Hamburg could have faced up to five years in prison if he had been convicted after a trial.