An Oak Park physician was in police custody last Friday after allegedly offering prescription drugs on Craigslist in exchange for sex.
Undercover Wilmette police arrested Joshua Baron, 37, on Jan. 13, according to a news release. Officers there had responded to a posting by Baron on the free classified ad website, Craigslist. Over the course of a week, Baron and police exchanged e-mails in which the doctor allegedly offered the illegal drugs in exchange for “sex acts.” Police arrested Baron when he traveled to Wilmette to complete the exchange, according to the release.
Baron was charged with felony attempted delivery of a controlled substance and misdemeanor solicitation of a sex act. A judge reportedly set his bond at $2,000, and another court date is scheduled for Jan. 21 in Skokie.
Wilmette police did not return calls seeking comment, and a phone call to Baron’s south Oak Park home Friday was not answered.
Baron is a child neurologist and assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center, having relocated here about four years ago from Boston. Deb Song, a spokesperson for Rush, said that Baron had worked out of both the Oak Park and Chicago locations of the hospital since July 2006. He has been suspended from his position, pending further investigation, Song said, and his profile has since been removed from the university’s website.
Baron and his family were profiled by Wednesday Journal in June for their attempts to raise $30,000 in order to adopt a blind, 5-year-old Chinese boy.
