PEORIA, Ill. — A Pekin man has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted enticement of a minor.
Mark Steven Peterson, 42, will also serve five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, Peterson engaged in multiple online conversations in April 2025 with someone he believed was the stepfather of a 10-year-old girl. Investigators said Peterson discussed sexual acts he wanted to perform with the child, arranged a meeting and traveled from Pekin to Peoria, where FBI agents arrested him.
A federal grand jury indicted Peterson in May 2025. He later pleaded guilty in December after authorities said he violated the conditions of his pretrial release and was taken back into custody.
The FBI’s Springfield Field Office investigated the case.
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