A 22-year-old man who worked in East St. Louis after-school programs is behind bars this week after prosecutors say he went online, believed he was talking to a child, and planned a face-to-face meeting. Court records identify the suspect as Chad D. Gray Jr., who was taken into custody and was being held in the Clinton County Jail as of June 24, 2026. The allegation pushed his employer and the local school district to move quickly on personnel and safety steps while the case works its way through court.
Felony counts and jail status
Gray was charged Monday in Clinton County with four felony counts, including grooming, indecent solicitation, solicitation to meet a child, and traveling to meet a child, which is a Class 3 felony under Illinois law, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. Charging documents allege Gray used an electronic device on June 19 and 20 to communicate and set up a meeting at a bakery in New Baden. A judge granted prosecutors' petition to deny pretrial release; as of June 24 he remained in custody.
Under Illinois law, solicitation to meet a child (720 ILCS 5/11-6.6) covers using electronic communication to arrange a meeting with someone the defendant believed was under 17 for an unlawful purpose, according to the Illinois General Assembly. That mouthful of a statute is at the heart of the case that now has Gray sitting in the county jail.
After-school role and nonprofit response
Gray previously taught financial literacy in East St. Louis after-school programs as a staff member with Go! International, a nonprofit that partners with the district. Through that organization, he worked once a week at Mason-Clark Middle School and Wyvetter Younge School of Excellence and occasionally at Dr. Katie Harper Wright Elementary from Feb. 26, 2024, through May 2025, then later at Officer Elementary’s after-school program in June 2025 and from Sept. 5, 2025, through Feb. 5, 2026, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. Those campuses are among those listed on the district website for East St. Louis School District 189.
Go! International CEO Seth Hamilton told the paper that Gray was never left alone with students while working in school settings. Hamilton also said the nonprofit fired Gray and notified its partners after learning of the allegations. District officials, for their part, said Gray had been in areas covered by surveillance cameras and that he had passed required background checks before working with students.
Regional backdrop of online decoy stings
Gray’s case arrives as law enforcement and community groups in the Metro East have been running online decoy operations to expose alleged predators. Several of those efforts have led to charges and arrests once prosecutors reviewed the evidence.
Recent examples include an Edwardsville social media operation that resulted in solicitation and grooming charges, and a Centralia case that began after an intervention group posed as a juvenile. Local coverage of those incidents offers a window into how investigators and prosecutors typically handle online solicitation cases. For more detail, see reporting from RiverBender and SouthernIllinoisNow.
What comes next in court and in schools
The case is pending in Clinton County circuit court, where the prosecutor will decide whether to take it to trial or file anything additional. Gray is presumed innocent unless and until he is convicted.
The East St. Louis district has said it does not believe District 189 students are victims in this case and has directed families with concerns to contact school leaders. Statewide, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services operates a child-abuse hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE for reports and resources; details are available from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
