Lake County man arrested on child grooming charges

CHICAGO - An Antioch man was charged with sending sexually explicit photos to an investigator posing as a 14-year-old boy.

Jared Lorenzen, 28, was arrested Thursday at his home in the 800 block of Mockingbird Drive, according to a statement from Antioch police.

Detectives began investigating Lorenzen last November when he started interacting online with someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy, but was actually an undercover Mundelein Police Department detective.

Lorenzen allegedly sent the boy pornographic images of himself and asked for sexually explicit photos of the boy in return, investigators said.

Jared Lorenzen, 28. (Antioch police)

Authorities said Lorenzen also attempted to groom the 14-year-old for sex.

Lorenzen was taken into custody Thursday after a search warrant was conducted on his north suburban home, where authorities also discovered a loaded firearm.

He has been charged with three felony counts of grooming and harmful material, the statement said. The Lake County State's Attorney's Office is reviewing charged for unlawfully possessing a firearm without a FOID card.

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In a statement, Antioch Police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow said a strong message needs to be sent to child predators.

"Keeping our children safe is a top priority of the Antioch Police Department," Guttschow said. "Let this incident serve as a warning to anyone who may be considering engaging in this sort of activity, law enforcement is watching and we will use every legal means necessary to prevent you from harming our children. You will be caught and we will arrest you."

Lorenzen is currently being held on a $500,000 bond.