Eight Illinois men have been arrested and charged with child trafficking and sex abuse
Eight Illinois men were arrested last week and face a variety of child trafficking and sexual abuse charges following an Illinois State Police investigation.
According to state police, Cody R. Jones, 34, Edgar G. Mendoza, 32, Timothy E. Smith, 28, and Zebei D. Zhu, 37, all of Springfield; David L. Kraemer, 41, of Lovington, Shannan C. Morrow, 52, of White Hall; Phillip J. Smith, 43, of Rochester; and Kory W. Tobias, 45, of Chatham, were arrested after a two-day operation conducted in Springfield on Aug. 9-10 aimed at finding people suspected of engaging in commercial sex acts with children.
Each was charged with traveling to meet a minor and indecent solicitation of a child, with Timothy E. Smith charged with two counts of each. Morrow was charged with sexual exploitation of a child.
The Sangamon County State's Attorney's Office also added a felony grooming charge for each of the eight. Zhu, Morrow, Timothy E. Smith, and Kraemer were also charged with attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The solicitation, traveling, and attempted sexual abuse charges are Class 3 felonies, carrying a sentence of two to five years in prison. Grooming is a Class 4 charge, which carries a similar sentence.
Sexual exploitation of a child is a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a prison sentence of up to 364 days. All charges will be eligible for probation. In addition, those charged with attempted sexual abuse are eligible for a lifetime registry as a sex offender, while others are eligible for a 10-year registration.
The defendants were formally charged Aug. 10 in Sangamon County Circuit Court. Six of the defendants – Jones, the two Smiths, Zhu, Tobias and Morrow – had preliminary hearings scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Mendoza and Kraemer's hearings were scheduled for Aug. 24 at 11 a.m. Assistant State's Attorney Kendra Hansel, child protection division chief, will handle the prosecution of the cases.
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This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois men arrested and face child trafficking and sex abuse charges
