Fox 2 Detroit · October 14, 2026

Illinois School Maintenance Worker Arrested in Livonia and Charged With Traveling With Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct

• Christopher Thomas Mertens was arrested on Monday at Beverly Park in Livonia after planning a meetup with a person he believed was a 15-year-old, who was an undercover officer, according to a criminal complaint cited in the report.
• Flock license-plate-reader cameras were used by authorities to track Mertens to Michigan, according to investigators cited in the report.
• Mertens was charged with traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, according to the report.

Charges and account attributed to the criminal complaint as reported; no response from Mertens beyond the statement attributed to him in the complaint is documented in the source. Original headline: "Illinois school employee arrested trying to meet Livonia teen for sex, tracked by Flock cameras".