Stateville Employee Solicited Girl, Age 13: Joliet Police

JOLIET — The Joliet Police Department issued a press release on Wednesday announcing that 45-year-old Joliet resident Robert Arndt, who works as the Stateville Correctional Center's food services supervisor, has been put into the Will County Jail on charges of grooming and solicitation of a sexual act.

According to a news release from Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English, on July 30, the Joliet Police Department was contacted by family members of a 13-year-old girl who had discovered inappropriate messages of a sexual nature between a man and the juvenile on Facebook.

Detectives initiated an investigation and identified the suspect as Arndt. Detectives learned that the messaging on social media took place over a span of several months and that Arndt was an Illinois Department of Corrections employee, English said.

Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Arndt on Oct, 11, for one count each of grooming and solicitation of a sexual act.

Arndt was placed into custody later that evening at 8:56 p.m. at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill. He was driven to the Joliet Police Department for processing and then transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.

Arndt has not been able to get out of the Will County Jail, the logs show.