Man Propositions Cop Online, Thinking She's A 14-Year-Old

CHICAGO (CBS) - A Northwest Side Logan Square neighborhood man was charged Thursday with soliciting sex from an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl in an online chat room.

Eric Avila, 29, of the 3000 block of West Diversey was charged with indecent solicitation of a child -- a Class 3 felony that carries up to to five years in prison, according to a release from the Cook County Sheriff's office. He was ordered held on $80,000 bond.

The sheriff's Child Exploitation Unit began investigating Avila after he initiated contact in October with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl in a Yahoo chat room, the release said.

Avila told the officer he was a 29-year-old Chicago man as he engaged in online chats for several weeks, believing her to be an underage girl, according to the release.

During the online communication, Avila asked the officer if she was interested in having sex and said that her age did not matter, the release said. He also called the undercover officer at one point.

Avila was arrested when he came to meet the officer after telling her he would pick her up and take her to a hotel where they would have sex, according to the release.

He is next scheduled to appear in court Nov. 2.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)