Wilmington Man Caught in Motel Room With Underage Girls, Charged With Child Grooming

A Wilmington man caught in a motel room with two underage girls last week was jailed Friday on a charge of child grooming.

Jeremy Hicks, 34, was found with a pair of teens at the Knights Inn on Lorenzo Road July 8, police said.

County deputies had been looking for one of the girls, a 15-year-old, and allegedly tracked her down to the Knights Inn where she was with a 16-year-old friend and Hicks, who had booked the room.

The girls were questioned and turned over to relatives. Over the course of the following week, detectives delved into cell phone and social media information and reportedly came up with enough evidence to obtain a warrant for Hicks’ arrest. The warrant carries a $250,000 bond.

“During the investigation, detectives came to suspect that there may be other juvenile victims of Jeremy Hicks in the southern Will and Grundy townships, specifically Wilmington and Coal City,” police said. Anyone with information is asked to call the investigation division at 815-727-8574.

Hicks has been jailed at least three prior times over the years and in 2010 he pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct for calling 911 and falsely claiming he saw someone jump off a bridge into the Kankakee River.