PEORIA, Ill. (WAND) - A man from San Antonio is accused of sexually exploiting a minor from central Illinois.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment Tuesday charging Corbett Eugene Hayes, 40, with sexual exploitation of a minor. Court documents said the FBI received a report from the father of a central Illinois teen that an unknown man was taking part in sexually graphic messages with his daughter through social media and texts.
Prosecutors said the suspect initially posed as a 16-year-old boy when he contacted the teen, then later assumed the role of the fake teen's uncle. The FBI later concluded Hayes was controlling social media accounts for both identities.
A separate investigation by the FBI Minneapolis field office identified Hayes as a person who traded images of child pornography on a separate platform, prosecutors said.
On Aug. 18, Hayes will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Bemporad in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas. At that time, there will be a detention hearing and identity hearing to determine his transfer to the Central District of Illinois.
Prosecutors said the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois will schedule a date for Hayes' appearance in Urbana once U.S. Marshals transport him from Texas.
Hayes had been arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Aug. 12 near his San Antonio home and has been in U.S. Marshals Service custody since. Should be be found guilty, Hayes would serve 15-30 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor.
