PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A Pekin man faces up to life in prison after being indicted this week by a federal grand jury for trying to entice a minor to have sex with him.
Last month, Mark Peterson, 43, appeared before a federal magistrate judge and was ordered held in custody of the U.S. marshals on the charge of attempted enticement of a minor. On Tuesday, the grand jury indicted — the formal version of charging — him on the same count.
According to an affidavit contained in the initial charge, Peterson initiated contact through a social media platform with an individual whom he believed had access to a ten-year-old girl. Over the course of several conversations, he said many times he wanted to have sex with the girl.
On April 24, he drove to the Junction City shopping center, the complaint states, to meet up with the man and the girl. When he arrived, he arrested by federal agents.
“During the arrest, Peterson stated he was entrapped and that his life was ruined. The bag Peterson was carrying was searched and found inside the bag were skittles, condoms, lubricant, a Google chrome laptop …” the complaint stated.
They also found his cell phone which still had an active call to the “individual” who set up the encounter. In reality, that person was a covert employee of the FBI.
If convicted of attempted enticement of a minor, Peterson faces a minimum sentence of ten years to life imprisonment.
