URBANA, Ill. (WAND) – A state trooper who contacted someone he believed to be a prostitute and wanted to pay her for sex will serve probation.
The sentence for 50-year-old Leonard Kirkpatrick will involve 18 months of conditional discharge and, according to The News-Gazette, his resignation. He first contacted the woman on April 1 and told her he was lonely, the newspaper says, before offering to meet with her and pay her $120 for sex.
After his initial contact with the woman was reported to Champaign police and Illinois State Police, prosecutors say undercover troopers contacted Kirkpatrick with a different phone number. They say he responded and suggested a time to meet up, but the meeting never happened.
Kirkpatrick was making $96,000 a year as an Illinois State Trooper. He spent a large portion of 2018 on paid leave before pleading guilty to a charge of misdemeanor solicitation of a sex act. A plea deal meant felony official misconduct charges, which claimed he sent texts to the woman while on the clock, were dropped.
The former trooper’s conditional discharge doesn’t make him stay in contact with a probation officer. He agreed to leave his job within 30 days and pay the Champaign County Circuit Clerk a $500 fine.
