PEORIA, Ill. — Nine local men were arrested over the weekend and charged with attempted enticement of a child to engage in sexual activity.
The men charged used social media and the internet to attempt to engage in sexual activity with a minor, however the ‘minors’ were FBI online covert employees pretending to be someone under the age of 18 at a Peoria residence.
The men arrived to the residence on Friday Nov. 4, were arrested, and taken into custody by FBI Springfield Special Agents, the Peoria Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Illinois State Police, and the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
The string of men made their initial appearance in Federal Court on Monday, Nov. 4, and hearings were scheduled for two days later.
The men who were taken into custody are Thomas Alt, 26, of Peoria; Tyler Lee, 33, of Galesburg; Thomas Bauer, 35, of Bloomington; Keith Madson, 35, of Canton; Jacob Beeney, 35, of Trivoli; Travis Koch, 38, of Peoria; Patrick Lanan, 39, of Mapleton; Bernard Waibel, 55, Peoria; and Hector Martinez, 56, of Peoria.
Five of the men were released on bond to third party custodians where they will be confined to the residence, have no access to the internet, have no contact with a person under the age of 18 unless accompanied by a responsible adult who knows their history, and no fire arms will be in the home.
Those five men who were released on bond are Keith Madson, Travis Koch, Thomas Bauer, Jacob Beeney, and Hector Martinez.
Bernard Waibel, Tyler Lee, Patrick Lanan, and Thomas Alt did not have third party custodians present Wednesday at the courthouse, and they remain in custody.
