A 38-year-old St. Charles man was sentenced to 5 years in prison for enticing a child to meet with him in a South Elgin parking lot to perform illicit acts for money.
Edward T. Izenstark, who at the time of the incident was President of the Thompson Middle School Parent Teacher Organization, was given the maximum sentence of five years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to Indecent Solicitation of a Child, a Class 3 Felony; Traveling to Meet a Minor, a Class 3 Felony; Grooming, a Class 4 Felony; and Solicitation of a Sexual Act, a Class 4 Felony, last December.
According to prosecutors, Izenstark began communicating with the child on July 8, 2023 via FaceTime, phone calls, and text messages. On August 12, 2023, at around 10:20pm, Izenstark drove from his St. Charles home to Epic Air Trampoline Park in South Elgin to perform sexual acts on the child in exchange for money. After the defendant confirmed he was in the parking lot, the child called 911.
On the charges of Indecent Solicitation of a Child and Traveling to Meet a Minor, Izenstark was sentenced to the maximum of 5 years each. On the charges of Grooming and Solicitation of a Sexual Act, he was sentenced to the maximum of 3 years each.
In accordance with Illinois law, all counts are to be served concurrently. Izenstark is eligible for day-for-day sentencing, and he receives credit for 216 days served in the Kane County jail.
In addition to the prison term, Izenstark must register for a period of ten years as a sexual offender in accordance with the Illinois Sexual Offender Registration Act.
“But for the child’s bravery in calling 911 that night, this could have been a very different case,” Assistant State’s Attorneys Amanda Busljeta stated. “The imposed maximum sentence holds the defendant accountable for his deplorable actions and hopefully sends a message that preying on the most vulnerable in our society will not be tolerated.”