A village of Glencoe maintenance employee faces charges of attempting to entice a minor online following an investigation by a Georgia police department, according to authorities.
Gregory S. Dittburner, 34, of Gurnee was picked up by Glencoe Public Safety on April 5 on a warrant from a case in Roswell, GA including a charge on enticing a child for indecent purposes.
Dittburner engaged in online conversations initiated in May 2023 that were described as “illicit” with an individual he believed to be a female under the age of 16, according to Roswell Police Spokesman Timothy Lupo. Instead, it was one of the Roswell detectives monitoring online chat platforms.
Lupo said an in-state warrant was issued last September and it was changed to a nationwide warrant on April 4.
Dittburner had a bond hearing on April 6 and remained in custody at the Cook County Jail, according to Sheriff’s Department Spokeswoman Sophia Ansari.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office added Dittburner waived extradition.
The new charges come less than a year after Dittburner pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic battery, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli. Dittburner was sentenced to 18 months probation and fined $200 in that case.
Village Manager Phil Kiraly did not say whether the village was aware of the July 2023 domestic battery arrest.
“We are moving through an internal investigation process,” Kiraly said. “At this point I have to let that process work through.”
Following these new charges, Kiraly said Dittburner was now on administrative leave.
Dittburner was hired by the village in October 2021 and he was one of 21 maintenance equipment operators in the public works department, according to Kiraly. He had an annual salary of $72,513.
Dittburner worked on a crew assigned to perform maintenance on areas including the streets and sewers and he had limited contact with the public.
Kiraly did not rule out changes in village hiring procedures in the future, but did not say whether this particular incident will lead to that.
“We are always considering whether or not our pre-employment process should adjust or be changed,” he said. “That’s a pretty typical thing for us to do.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
