Ill. man bound over to circuit court

Southeast Missourian

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Probable cause was found against an Illinois man accused of arranging to have sex with a 15-year-old girl as part of a Bollinger County online sex sting. William J. Heyduck is charged with attempted statutory sodomy.

County sheriff's dispatcher Brandy Otte, 21, testified during a preliminary hearing for Heyduck that she posed as a 15-year-old girl on the Internet as part of a undercover sting to catch sexual predators.

Otte sent out invitations to a variety of people on the Web site MySpace.com, and began an online conversation with Heyduck, 30, of Centralia, Ill., when he responded July 4.

When Heyduck asked Otte if she was 15 years old, she said yes.

"It didn't seem to be an issue," Otte said.

Heyduck drove about three hours to meet Otte at a McDonald's in Marble Hill and was arrested when he arrived.

Deputy Kevin Otte, husband of Brandy Otte, said a condom was found in Heyduck's pocket and he had alcohol in his trunk.

Following Ottes' testimony, Associate Circuit Judge Scott Thomsen found probable cause and ordered Heyduck bound to circuit court. The defendant will appear before Judge Benjamin Lewis Dec. 8.