Arlington Heights man accused of traveling to Crystal Lake to meet a child must register as sex offender

A 33-year-old Arlington Heights man pleaded guilty to indecent solicitation of a person he thought was a child and was sentenced to time served.

Jose H. Sanchez-Vargas, of the 900 block of West Rand Road, remained in the custody of the McHenry County Jail Thursday, the day after his plea deal, due to a hold by another agency, the jail log shows.

Sanchez-Vargas was sentenced Wednesday to 180 days in prison, which he has considered to have served, court records show. He has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 14, according to the jail log.

He must also serve two years of probation, as part of which he must undergo a sex offender evaluation and follow any recommendations made, according to the probation order. He must also register as a sex offender, have no contact with any children without approval by his probation officer, stay away from parks and schools, and not partake in drugs, alcohol or pornography.

Sanchez-Vargas had been indicted on charges of traveling to meet a child, two counts of indecent solicitation of a child and grooming.

He pleaded guilty to one of the indecent solicitation charges Wednesday, a Class 3 felony, which can carry a possible prison sentence of two to five years. As part of the negotiated plea, the other three charges were dismissed.

He was accused of soliciting a person he thought to be younger than age 17 over the internet for sexual conduct and then traveling to Crystal Lake to meet the child, according to the criminal complaint.

An independent group contacted the McHenry County Human Trafficking Task Force about Sanchez-Vargas, leading to an investigation, Crystal Lake Deputy Chief Rick Neumann said.

The task force took over contact with Sanchez-Vargas, who thought he was communicating with a child, and the communication became sexual in nature and he then traveled to meet the person he thought was a child near Walkup Avenue and Route 176, Neumann said. He was arrested at that time.

The McHenry County Public Defender’s Office, which represented Sanchez-Vargas, declined to comment.

Reporter Amanda Marrazzo contributed to this report.