JACKSONVILLE MAN SENTENCED TO PROBATION IN UNDERCOVER CHILD GROOMING CASE

JACKSONVILLE, IL — A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to a felony grooming charge stemming from an undercover law enforcement investigation in 2025.

Adam Welch, 40, of Beecher Hi-Rise in Jacksonville, entered his guilty plea Tuesday in Morgan County Circuit Court.

Welch was arrested in July 2025 after investigators alleged he had been exchanging messages with someone he believed was a 16-year-old girl. The individual was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.

Authorities subsequently arranged an undercover operation in the parking lot of the Lincoln Square shopping center in Jacksonville, where Welch was arrested.

Welch initially faced charges of grooming and traveling to meet a minor. Under the terms of a negotiated plea agreement, the more serious felony charge of traveling to meet a minor was dismissed.

The court sentenced Welch to two years of probation and imposed a $500 fine, along with court assessments and probation-related costs.

Welch must also comply with recommendations resulting from mental health and sex offender evaluations as part of his sentence.