Belleville man found guilty of trying to arrange sex with a 10-year-old

A Belleville man was found guilty in federal court on Tuesday on charges that he attempted to arrange sex with a minor.

According to the indictment, Sean P. Van Horn, 49, responded to a Craigslist advertisement promoting incest that was placed by agents with the FBI.

From April 29, 2020 until the time he as arrested a month later, Van Horn exchanged emails with an undercover agent who was pretending to be the father of a 10-year-old girl.

In some of the emails, Van Horn described in graphic detail what acts he wanted to perform on the fictional girl and asked for a meeting so that he could have sex with her, the charging documents alleged.

The FBI arrested Van Horn when he showed up at a prearranged location in O’Fallon on May 28, 2020. He was charged with attempted enticement of a minor.

During the trial, which was held in the U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois at the federal courthouse in Benton, jurors were shown the graphic messages Van Horn sent.

They also heard a recorded phone call Van Horn made to his girlfriend while he was in custody in which he admitted being on Craigslist “doing things I shouldn’t have been doing,” according to a release issued by the court.

Sentencing for Van Horn is scheduled for Nov. 16 before federal Judge Stacie M. Yandle. He faces a term in prison from at least 10 years to life, the release stated.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.