FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sep­tem­ber 14, 2020
Jones­boro Man charged with Inde­cent Solic­i­ta­tion of a Child

Union Coun­ty State’s Attor­ney Daniel Klinge­mann and Union Coun­ty Sher­iff Scott Harvel announced today that Harold Thomas Goerz a/Wa Har­ry T. Goetz (DOB: 511511942) of Jones­boro, Illi­nois has been charged with one (1) count of Inde­cent Solic­i­ta­tion of a Child (Class 2 Felony), one (l) count of Trav­el­ing to Meet a Minor (Class 3 Felony, one (1) count of Solic­i­ta­tion to Meet a Minor (Class 4 Felony) and one (l) count of Groom­ing (Class 4 Felony). Goetz is charged with attempt­ing to meet with a per­son Goetz believed to be a child under the age of 14 years for the pur­pose of sex­u­al grat­i­fi­ca­tion. Goetz was arrest­ed Sep­tem­ber 10, 2020 fol­low­ing an exten­sive inves­ti­ga­tion by Union Coun­ty Sher­iff s Detec­tive Bart Hile­man with assis­tance of KTS Preda­tor Hunters.
Goetz is being held in the Jack­son Coun­ty Jail in Mur­phys­boro on $50,000.00 bond. The mat­ter has been set for a Pre­lim­i­nary Hear­ing on Fri­day, Octo­ber 2, 2020 at the hour of 10:30 a.m. at the Union Coun­ty Cour­t­house in Jonesboro.
The Union Coun­ty State’s Attor­ney’s Office reminds the pub­lic that charges are not evi­dence of guilt. A defen­dant is pre­sumed inno­cent and is enti­tled to a fair tri­al in which the gov­ern­ment has the bur­den of prov­ing guilt beyond a rea­son­able doubt.
Media: Please con­tact the Union Coun­ty Sher­iffs Ofice at (618) 833‑5500 for any avail­able book­ing photographs.
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