Man charged in Perverted Justice probe in Wonder Lake

WONDER LAKE -- A college student has been arrested on a sexual predator charge after a first-of-its-kind sting in McHenry County in which a nationally known group helps to expose adults who solicit children online for sex.

Wonder Lake Police on Friday arrested Grant W. Boyer, 21, of Tower Lakes, after police said he came to a home on the east side of Wonder Lake prepared to have sex with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl he met online.

But the girl was really a decoy and police were waiting at the home to arrest Boyer, who brought condoms and a movie to the house, police said.

The sting was conducted in conjunction with Perverted Justice, the group that frequently works with Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" series, though the Wonder Lake sting was not filmed for the show.

Boyer, who said Monday he wouldn't comment on his arrest, was charged with solicitation of a child, a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. He was released from custody after posting $20,000 bond.

Wonder Lake Police Chief Dave Mahlke said Perverted Justice came to the village at his request.

"We're a small town," he said. "I can't designate a specific officer to go online and see if pedophiles are trying to make dates with children."

Mahlke said his department plans to continue the stings.

"To me, this is a very virgin territory. There are a lot of perverted people out here who need to be arrested," Mahlke said. "We're going to continue to investigate these pedophiles and hopefully we could put a bunch of them away."

town: Wonder Lake