EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A southern Illinois man who advocated sex between children and adults in online posts has been charged with attempting to solicit children into having sex with adults.
Forty-year-old James Lopes is accused of giving children cards imprinted with a website that contained his teachings regarding sex between adults and children as a religious rite.
Lopes was formally charged Wednesday with three felony counts of grooming in connection with the cards he allegedly handed out on April 23 and 24. He has also been charged with three counts of disorderly conduct.
Lopes was being held in lieu of $15,000 bond on trespass and disorderly conduct charges for refusing to leave a gas station outside Livingston after waving at a little girl. The bond was increased Wednesday to $75,000 due to the felony charges.
It wasn’t immediately known if Lopes has obtained legal representation.
