Press Release

Knoxville Man Arrested for Indecent Solicitation of a Child

At approximately 0130 hours on Saturday October, 14th, 2023 Knox County Sheriff's Deputies met with the President of Bikers Against Predators, a self-described "nonprofit organization taking action against online child predators. Deputies were provided information that indicated a member of the Bikers Against Predators organization, posing as a 13 year old female, had been communicating with an adult male named "Nick" in Knoxville IL.

Deputies made contact with Nicholas Bailey, 38 of Knoxville. Bailey cooperated with the investigation which resulted in Bailey's arrest on Indecent Solicitation of a Child Charges. Bailey was lodged in the Knox County Jail pending a detention hearing. This investigation is ongoing.

On Monday October 16th, 2023 The Knox County State's Attorney's Office filed formal charges against Bailey and a petition to detain. The petition to detain was withdrawn by the Knox County State's Attorney's Office and Bailey was placed on supervised release and released from the Knox County Jail. Bailey's preliminary hearing was set for November 6th, 2023 at 2:00 pm.

While the Sheriff's Office appreciates the support of organizations such as Bikers Against Predators, it is the stance of the Knox County Sheriff's Office not to encourage vigilante activities and to contact law enforcement to conduct thorough investigations into any criminal activity.

All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.