HARDIN — A 37-year-old man originally charged with solicitation and grooming in Calhoun County saw the charges transferred to federal court.
Orlin Guevara-Ulloa, 37, of Richland, Washington, who was later determined to be in the U.S. illegally after being deported twice, was originally charged by the Calhoun County State’s Attorney’s Office on March 31 with indecent solicitation of a child, a Class 3 felony; and solicitation to meet a child and grooming, both Class 4 felonies.
He was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on April 21 for illegal reentry after deportation.
On June 2, a superseding indictment added a count of attempted enticement of a minor.
According to court documents from Calhoun County, on June 23, prosecutors filed a “motion for nolle prosequi,” meaning they were dropping the prosecution of the local case because Guevara-Ulloa has been charged in federal court.
According to court documents, a press release and statements by Calhoun County Sheriff Zach Hardin, on March 30 the Sheriff’s Department received information from Online Predator Intervention, a civilian organization specializing in “stings” of child predators, that a man, later identified as Guevara-Ulloa, was attempting to solicit sex with a 13-year-old Hardin resident.
Calhoun and Pike County law enforcement officers began coordinating efforts, and at about 11:30 p.m. that evening, the suspect’s vehicle was found, and officers conducted a traffic stop on S. Park Street near French Street in Hardin.
The original federal indictment came after an ICE investigation into Guevara-Ulloa.
According to court documents, he is from Honduras and has been deported twice, in 2012 and 2018.
In a statement on the Zach Hardin for Calhoun County Sheriff Facebook Page, Hardin noted the penalties for the federal sex offense are “understandably serious.”
“With a range of 10 years to life imprisonment, and mandatory registration as a Sex Offender,” he stated. “Hopefully the severity of this indictment can serve as a deterrent to any possible offender out there.”
This individual has only been charged and remains innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. All charges may not be reported.
