Chicago Man Charged in Cook County Sheriff's Grindr Sting

A 51-year-old Uptown man has been charged with multiple felonies after allegedly soliciting an undercover Cook County Sheriff's Police officer who was posing as a teenage boy on a dating app. 

Matthew Baldwin was arrested on Tuesday after he arranged to meet a person he thought was a 15-year-old boy for sex, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced on Saturday.

Police said that on Sept. 10, Baldwin initiated a conversation with an investigator from the Sheriff's Police Special Victims Unit who was posing as a 15-year-old male on a dating app, identified as Grindr by CWBChicago.com.

The conversation moved to another chat app for several weeks, police said.

On Oct. 14, the undercover officer arranged to meet Baldwin near Baldwin's home in Uptown.

Baldwin was taken into custody when he arrived at the predetermined location. Upon being taken into custody, Baldwin, according to investigators, said he believed the person he was chatting with was a 15-year-old male, that he knew he shouldn't be talking with a minor, and that he intended to engage in sexual acts with the minor once they met.

Baldwin was charged with one count of attempt aggravated criminal sexual abuse, two counts of indecent solicitation of a minor, one count of traveling to meet a minor, and one count of grooming of a minor.

Baldwin appeared for a bond hearing on Friday, Oct. 16 where he was issued a $150,000 bond with electronic monitoring. Baldwin posted a $15,000 bail bond and was released on Saturday, according to CWBChicago.com.