A Jacksonville man has pleaded guilty to a felony grooming charge stemming from an undercover investigation last year.
Forty-year-old Adam Welch of Beecher Hi-Rise pleaded guilty Tuesday in Morgan County Circuit Court to Class 4 felony grooming.
Welch was arrested in July of 2025 after authorities said he had been messaging someone he believed was a 16-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover officer. Welch was then arrested after a sting operation was set up in the parking lot of Lincoln Square shopping center. He was also originally charged with traveling to meet a minor.
As part of a plea agreement, the Class 3 felony traveling-to-meet-a-minor charge was dismissed.
Welch was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a 500-dollar fine and court assessment and probation costs.
He was also ordered to comply with recommendations for mental health and sex offender evaluations.