Buffalo Grove Man Charged with Soliciting Minor for Sex

A Buffalo Grove man was being held Thursday on a $500,000 bond after he was charged this week with traveling to meet a minor to engage in sex acts, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

Randy Overla, 31, was arrested Jan. 21 at Morton West High School in Berwyn, where prosecutors said he traveled to meet a person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl whom he had conversed with online.

He faces felony charges of traveling to meet a minor (Class 3) and indecent solicitation of a child (Class 4). 

Overla, who previously lived in Arizona, was charged following an investigation by the Cook County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Berwyn Police Department.  

According to prosecutors, on Jan. 19, Overla responded to a posting on Craigslist’s “strictly platonic” section of personal ads believing he was interacting with a 15-year-old female from Berwyn. For the next several days Overla and the “girl” allegedly communicated through e-mail and text messages. The exchanges included Overla detailing explicit sex acts and indicating that he wanted to engage in those sex acts with the teen, prosecutors said.

On Jan. 21 Overla drove to Morton West High School in Berwyn to meet the would-be teen and he was placed under arrest at the scene.  During an initial search, arresting officers found condoms in Overla’s jacket pocket.

Overla’s next court date is Feb. 14 at the Cook County Courthouse in Maywood.

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