Cops: Joliet man thought he was meeting teenage girl for sex
By Brian Stanley bstanley@stmedianetwork.com January 7, 2013 11:44AM
Tully
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Updated: February 9, 2013 6:15AM
A 24-year-old Joliet man is being held in the Will County jail on charges he tried to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex.
But when he showed up Friday to meet the “girl” he’d been exchanging e-mails with, it turned out to be a Will County Sheriff’s deputy, and Anthony M. Tully was arrested on four felony charges, reports said.
Last month, investigators posed as a girl seeking friends on the Craigslist website. Tully reportedly answered and sent messages about engaging in sexual activity.
As the online correspondence continued for the next few weeks, Tully also e-mailed pictures of his penis, police said.
Around 7 p.m. Friday, Tully was expecting to meet the girl at a fast-food restaurant in Crest Hill, but was met by police instead.
Reports said Tully had condoms in his pockets when he was taken into custody.
Tully told detectives he’d sent all the e-mails using a computer at the Joliet Public Library on Black Road, police said.
He was arrested on charges of indecent solicitation of a minor, traveling to meet a minor for sexual purposes, distributing harmful material to a minor and grooming, which is using a computer service to encounter minors and engage in sexual activity. Tully, of 3322 Wexford Lane, is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Tully’s arrest is similar to that of Eric B. Wolf, 48, on Dec. 26. Wolf, of Matteson, posted his own message on Craigslist to have explicit conversations and send pictures to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
Wolf arrived with condoms to the same fast-food restaurant and was arrested on the same charges. He remains in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
