Waukegan man charged with sexually abusing 13-year-old

A 22-year-old Waukegan man is held in the Lake County jail after being charged with having sex with a 13-year-old Wadsworth girl, police said Wednesday.

Carlos Daniel Cartagena, of the 1700 block of Berwick Street, was charged with eight counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, each of which is a class 2 felony. He is being held on $150,000 bond.

Gurnee Police say Cartagena had a five-month relationship with the young girl he met on the Internet through the social network MySpace. The girl's mother reported to Gurnee police on Sept. 16 that she discovered her daughter was having sex with an older male, Cmdr. Jay Patrick said. While the two started meeting in April, the mother said she only recently learned the two were romantically involved.

Cartagena initially told the girl he was 17 years old. Since May, they have met on at least eight occasions at various parking lots in the Gurnee area, including Viking Park, Hunt Club Park, Kohl's and the Warren-Newport Public Library, according to police. Patrick said he is not sure how the girl was able to get to the various locations.

Cartagena eventually admitted to the teen he was actually 22 years old. She then told her mother.

With the assistance of the Waukegan Police Department, Cartagena was arrested Monday evening at his home.

Police said on Wednesday the case is under investigation and Cartagena may face additional charges.

"They're looking at his MySpace account," Patrick said.

He added they plan to present evidence to the Lake County grand jury within the next week for possible indictment on additional charges.