Crime & Safety
Man Gets 6 Years After Copping Guilty Plea in Teen Solicitation Case
James West, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of felony possession of child pornography and was sentenced to six years in prison this week, a Cook County State's Attorney's Office spokesman said Friday.
An Oak Lawn man will be spending his 27th birthday at the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty this week to one count of possession of child pornography for his role in the solicitation of a teen girl for sex, officials said Friday, Nov. 2.
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James West, 26, was sentenced Thursday, Nov. 1 by Cook County Judge John J. Hynes to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, said Andy Conklin, spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. As part of a plea agreement, five other felony charges against him were dismissed, court records show.
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West's girlfriend Lauren Papiez of Oak Lawn was also charged but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to probation in August. Police say the pair sent sexually explicit photos and text messages to a 16-year-old high school student . They were arrested Sept. 16 of last year and charged with one count each of indecent solicitation of a child. West was taken into custody at the Oak Lawn Community High School’s fall carnival.
West, who has been in custody since the incident, will receive credit for 415 days time served. He will also be fined $2,864 in court costs. He turns 27 on Nov. 24.
