Far North Peoria tattoo artist held for sexually explicit and 'grooming' messages

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) -- A Far North Peoria man spent two hours sending sexually explicit text messages to a 16-year-old girl earlier this year.

That's what Assistant State's Attorney Terry Muench said during a brief hearing Thursday in Peoria County Circuit Court where Mario E. Davis, 34, was charged with one count of grooming.

Davis appeared in court twice Thursday. The first time was in the morning, when a judge found probable cause to proceed on the charges. The second time was in the afternoon before Judge Mark Gilles who ordered him held pending the outcome of his case.

Muench said a reason to hold him was that Davis had called Peoria police hours after he texted the teenage girl to claim his Snapchat account was hacked or that someone was posing as him.

The judge noted that Davis