Police: Hanover Park man thought he was meeting girl for sex in Des Plaines

A Hanover Park man was arrested Thursday after setting up an illicit meeting with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl, the Cook County sheriff's office said Friday.

John B. Schulz, 36, of the 7400 block of Brookside Drive is charged with felony counts of traveling to meet a minor, grooming and manufacturing harmful material, according to the news release.

Authorities allege Schulz messaged an investigator who was posing as a 15-year-old girl on a social media app and then sent sexually explicit messages, images and videos. The investigator set up a meeting for Thursday in a strip mall parking lot in Des Plaines.

Schulz fled as police approached his vehicle, but officers were waiting for him when he returned to his house, the news release said.

Schulz told investigators he believed he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and intended to engage in sexual acts, the news release said.

His bond hearing is set for Saturday in the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago.