Illinois
Illinois man charged 6 years after first arrest in pimping of 15-year-old girl: LCSO
LAKE COUNTY, Ill. – An Illinois man has been charged in connection with a human trafficking investigation that resulted in the arrest of a Round Lake Beach woman in 2019.
“There is nothing more revolting than taking the innocence away from a juvenile and promoting a child for prostitution,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said at the time.
The backstory:
On July 12, 2019, Sheila Johnston – who was 33 years old at the time – was arrested for allegedly pimping a 15-year-old girl whom she had legal guardianship of.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Johnston posted an online advertisement attempting to sell the girl for sex. Undercover detectives saw the post and began communicating with Johnston, who allegedly agreed to offer both the girl and herself for sex.
Sheila Johnston | Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Johnston then reportedly took the girl to a hotel in Waukegan, where she met an undercover detective posing as a customer. Johnson was taken into custody, and the girl was turned over to child welfare workers with the state’s Department of Children and Family Services.
Now, six years later, 51-year-old Jose Puga was arrested in connection with the case.
Authorities said as the investigation progressed, new evidence and witnesses came to light, providing detectives with “sufficient proof” to link Puga, of Wonder Lake, to the crimes perpetrated against the 15-year-old girl.
An arrest warrant was issued for Puga and on Tuesday, he turned himself in at the Lake County Jail. A detention hearing was set for Tuesday.
He’s been charged with the following:
- Three counts of Involuntary Sexual Servitude of a Minor (Class X Felony)
- Three counts of Trafficking in Persons (Class 1 Felony)
- Six counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse (Class 2 Felony)
What they’re saying:
Sheriff Idleburg commented on the update.
“While the investigation was lengthy, the relentless dedication of the investigators ensured that those responsible for victimizing this child were brought to justice,” he said.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Freeze Watch
from MON 12:00 AM CDT until MON 9:00 AM CDT, Lake County, Kankakee County, La Salle County, DuPage County, Northern Will County, DeKalb County, Southern Will County, Kendall County, Southern Cook County, Northern Cook County, Grundy County, Eastern Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Newton County, Jasper County, Porter County
-
Hawaii6 minutes agoA Deep Dive into Hawai‘i’s Shell Jewelry Industry – Hawaii Business Magazine
-
Idaho12 minutes ago
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 4 on April 19, 2026
-
Illinois18 minutes agoMultiple people shot in Centralia, Illinois: REPORT
-
Indiana24 minutes agoIndiana mother charged with neglect after baby’s co-sleeping death
-
Iowa30 minutes agoFormer Iowa State star, All-American Audi Crooks announces transfer destination
-
Kansas36 minutes agoTyler Reddick needs OT at Kansas to claim fifth win of NASCAR season
-
Kentucky42 minutes agoVanderbilt baseball’s series win vs Kentucky revelatory
-
Louisiana48 minutes agoLouisiana shooter Shamar Elkins made chilling remarks about ‘demons’ weeks before killing his 7 kids and their cousin