Illinois State Police officer charged after allegedly soliciting "prostitute" while on duty

An Illinois State Police trooper has been charged with official misconduct for allegedly soliciting while on duty someone he believed to be a prostitute.

Leonard Kirkpatrick is accused of offering to pay a woman named "Megan" to perform sex acts with him.

State Police spokesman Lt. Matt Boerwinkle said Wednesday that Kirkpatrick, a 14-year veteran, was relieved of duty and placed on administrative leave.

Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz says Kirkpatrick allegedly made the solicitations to "Megan" on the online classified ad web site Backpage.com.

Rietz said the contacts with "Megan" were allegedly made by Kirkpatrick via text message. Rietz added no sex acts ever actually occurred.

Attorney Mike Zopf, who is representing Kirkpatrick, had no immediate comments on the charges.