Fairbury’s crackdown on suspected child predators leads to Bloomington man’s arrest

FAIRBURY (25News Now) - A task force investigating sex crimes against children is announcing a Bloomington man’s arrest.

Colton Houck, 22, is one of five people arrested since August 31 by Fairbury and El Paso Police Department’s task force called CHAOS., which stands for Crimes Against Our Students.

The task force says Houck was arrested at a Fairbury home September 7. Investigators say Houck was in communication with a minor younger than 15 and made arrangements to meet the child for sexual purposes.

Houck is charged in Livingston County Court with indecent solicitation and traveling to meet a child, Both are Class 3 felonies.

Bond was set at $15,000, meaning Houck needs to post 10% of that, or $1,500, to be released from jail. A public defender was appointed to represent Houck.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 27.

In 2022, 25News went to Fairbury to learn how police in the small community use social media and leads from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force to find alleged sex offenders.

Fairbury Police have arrested dozens of suspects in recent years.

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