A 53-year-old Indianapolis man was formally charged in Marion County Court on Wednesday with child abduction and traveling to meet a minor.
The traveling to meet a minor charge accuses Jerry West of traveling to Illinois on April 17th to commit an act of sexual conduct with a child under the age of 17 after using an electronic data storage or transmission device to seduce, solicit or entice the minor.
The child abduction charge accused West of luring the child into a motor vehicle without the consent of a custodial parent.
After each charge was read by Judge Mark Stedelin, West indicated he did not really understand them. He later added everybody has ‘everything messed up’ and that he didn’t come to Illinois for any sexual contact with the child.
Stedelin agreed with the prosecutor’s request for a $100,000 bond. If released on bond, he was ordered to have no contact with the victim or anyone under the age of 18 and not possess any internet-capable devices. He had a public defender appointed to represent him.
Sheriff Kevin Cripps says the case developed Monday afternoon after a motorist who had earlier assisted West when his car broke down on Route 37 south of Salem called the sheriff’s department to report something did not seem right with a young girl who was in the car with West.
After an hour search, the vehicle was found in the I-57 rest area south of Salem. Cripps says West had apparently traveled to Kentucky where he had taken the six-year-old girl without permission and violated an order of protection that had been issued prohibiting contact.
The sheriff’s department has also served a no-bond warrant on West issued in McCracken County, Kentucky.
