Mattoon Man Arrested for Child Solicitation

Mattoon police arrested Thomas C. Patton, age 44 of Mattoon, on Friday night at 10:51 p.m. in the 1300 block of Walnut Ave. 

The charges allege that Patton was trolling Facebook in attempts to meet young boys. Patton is alleged to have met a teenage boy online and solicited the boy for physical relations. Patton allegedly committed an act of furtherance when he asked the boy to meet him in a local park to engage in those relations. Patton then went to the park to meet the boy, only to find a police officer waiting to arrest him.

Patton was charged with Indecent Solicitation of a Child and Solicitation to meet a Child and was taken to the Coles County Jail.