Illinois man sentenced to 3 years in prison for attempting to meet minor for sex

ST. CHARLES, Ill. — An Illinois man pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday to three years in state prison for traveling to meet a minor for sex.

This guilty plea and sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Aurora (Illinois) Police Department.

Josh T. Archer, 33, of Aurora, Illinois, pleaded guilty Oct. 5 to traveling to an Aurora hotel to engage in a sexual encounter with a minor girl.  Archer agreed to a three-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea of traveling to meet a minor, a Class 3 felony. Kane County Associate Judge Clint Hull accepted Archer's guilty plea.

Prosecutors presented evidence that on Dec. 23, 2014, Archer traveled to an Aurora hotel planning to have sex with who he believed would be a 14- or 15-year-old girl. Archer had responded to an online personal ad and solicited sexual favors with someone whom he believed to be the girl's mother.

When Archer arrived at the hotel, he met a person he thought was the girl's mother, confirmed that he wanted sexual favors, and was then was arrested by HSI special agents and officers with Aurora Police Department.

In addition to the prison term, Archer must register for 10 years as a sexual offender in accordance with the Illinois Sexual Offender Registration Act.

According to Illinois law, Archer is eligible for day-for-day sentencing. He receives credit for at least 12 days served in the Kane County Jail. He had been free on $5,000 bond that was revoked upon conviction.

This case was prosecuted by Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Christine Bayer.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.