Sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison for sexual abuse of little girls in two counties. He's the kind of pervert that is the worst fear of parents, working in school districts that are the worst fear of parents. 
Feb 1, 2007 - Jon White, aka Jonathan White, a second-grade teacher at Thomas Paine Grade School, has been arrested on suspicion of sexually molesting children at the school last fall. He was arrested as he arrived at school on Wednesday. [The children were 7-8 years old according to later 
news stories.]
Police learned Monday of the abuse allegations through a "concerned citizen" and have, with the help of representatives from the state Department of Children and Family Services, been interviewing children since then.
Full name: Jonathon A. White also referred to as Jon White or Jon Andrew White
SCHOOL KNEW Feb 2 - The school district knew about the allegations and after their investigation they allowed White to continue to teach. One of the students remained in his classroom until White's arrest.
There are now three children involved.
Police police served a search warrant at the school superintendent's office Tuesday afternoon and took all of the district's notes, reports and conclusions about White.
White is married and has a 9-month-old child.
Court records in McLean County show White has a 2001 misdemeanor conviction for resisting a peace officer for which he was sentenced to conditional discharge, a form of probation without reporting to an officer. In that same case, two counts of domestic battery were dismissed.
LIST OF VICTIMS GROWS Feb 3 - The list of victims is growing as police continue to investigate.
LAWSUITS Feb 3 - School expects lawsuits.
"We're told now he had a problem over at (his teaching position in) Normal," [Urbana schools Superintendent Gene] Amberg said. "We didn't know."
Disturbingly, the "incident" in the fall that was a "misunderstanding" isn't fully explained.
TT - It's hoped that in addition to suing the school district, that parents consider suing the Normal school as well.
Update Feb 5 - WMBD reports that White was suspended for a week when he worked at a Unit Five school in McLean County.
TT - It's hoped that in addition to suing the school district, that parents consider suing the Normal school as well.
Update Feb 5 - WMBD reports that White was suspended for a week when he worked at a Unit Five school in McLean County.
White taught first grade at Colene Hoose Elementary from 2003 to 2005. During his suspension in November 2004, the district investigated two separate incidents of inappropriate behavior. Sources tell us White was allowed to continue teaching the rest of the school year, and then he was forced to resign. Unit Five Superintendent Alan Chapman would not tell us what the inappropriate behavior was, but said White did not commit any criminal actions while he worked there.
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULED Feb 6 - A preliminary hearing is set for Feb 27 and a pretrial hearing Mar 27 on three Class X felony counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. Police are continuing to talk with additional potential victims.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE Feb 8 - Over 200 community members met in the school gym to demand answers.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE Feb 8 - Over 200 community members met in the school gym to demand answers.
In November, the Urbana School District looked into allegations of sexual misconduct against White involving two of his students. Gene Amberg, Urbana School District superintendent, told the Associated Press that the accusations were determined to be unfounded at the time.
Lydia Carter, an Urbana resident and parent of a son in White's class said she wants to know why the school board did not inform parents of the allegations against White when an investigation was conducted at the end of last year. "Just to know that the allegations were brought and the accusations were made back in November kind of burns me because he was still teaching our kids," she said.
The school principal, Janice Bradley, has been placed on indefinite administrative leave.
Update Feb 10 - A parent of one of the victims of another teacher at the school spoke out. The circumstances seem oddly familiar. The school insisted on their own investigations. The teacher, Brian Dyson, 31, is currently serving five years after pleading guilty to a single count of criminal sexual assault for engaging in a sex act with a 14-year-old girl at Urbana Middle School between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14, 2005.
The school notified the parents Feb 10. Dyson was suspended Feb 14. He wasn't arrested until the 24th. In the meantime, he was allowed to DJ a Valentine's Dance where the student had to meet him.
Update Feb 10 - A parent of one of the victims of another teacher at the school spoke out. The circumstances seem oddly familiar. The school insisted on their own investigations. The teacher, Brian Dyson, 31, is currently serving five years after pleading guilty to a single count of criminal sexual assault for engaging in a sex act with a 14-year-old girl at Urbana Middle School between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14, 2005.
The school notified the parents Feb 10. Dyson was suspended Feb 14. He wasn't arrested until the 24th. In the meantime, he was allowed to DJ a Valentine's Dance where the student had to meet him.
"They said she was a willing participant," the father said. "My daughter is a minor so she doesn't know. Dyson is the adult."
"This is why people don't come forward. It's not an easy task. If the parent comes out and identifies himself or herself, the community automatically knows who your child is ... and the community automatically ostracizes your child. ... Someone who doesn't know any better thinks she asked for it."
The article also states that yet ANOTHER Urbana teacher - a teacher's aide in a special-needs classroom at Urbana Middle School is also charged with criminal sexual abuse for having sex with a teenage girl between July and August 2006. The crime is alleged to have occurred outside of school with a girl who was an employee of his at a store he ran in Urbana.
Cameron Belk, 38, is to appear in court Tuesday for a status call on his case.
NEW ARREST Feb 27 - White has been arrested on new charges. The warrant charges him with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child while he was a school teacher in Normal in October 2004.
His arrest on the McLean County charges, although not unanticipated, still came as a shock to him and several members of his family who had accompanied him to court, including his wife and parents, said his attorneys.
BAIL RAISED Feb 28 - White's bail has been raised to $1 million. White pleaded not guilty and will appear in court March 27 for a pre-trial hearing. He will be arraigned in at McLean County in the next few days.
ADDITIONAL CHARGES Mar 10 - Additional charges were filed. The charges bring to 11 the number of alleged victims in two counties.
Update Mar 30 - Attorneys for White filed a motion Friday to reduce his bond from $1 million to $500,000. An April 13 hearing has been set on the bond motion.
BOND REDUCED Apr 13 - Arguing against a bond reduction, prosecutor Michelle Brooks told Judge Scott Drazewski if the allegations against White are true -- "White is a serial pedophile who presents a tremendous threat to the community." The judge reduced the bond from $1 million to $750,000. White must post $75,000 to bond post in McLean County, but he still must pay $50,000 to bond out of Champaign County.
DNA EVIDENCE WMBD/WYZZ TV reported that White's attorney was "shocked" to learn DNA evidence would be introduced at Friday's hearing. That evidence is part of the Champaign County's case against White. Next court date is is June 22.
REMAINS IN JAIL Update June 7 - White's bond remains $1 million in Champaign County and he remains in jail. Authorities in both counties are trying to coordinate his trials.
BAIL: June 12 - White posted $175,000 bail.
HEARING SCHEDULED: Sept 26 - A hearing is scheduled next month to determine what evidence will be allowed in White's trial in Champaign County.
EVIDENTIARY HEARING Oct 26 - At an hearing to look at the evidence for an upcoming trial, the parents of the first victim to report trouble, said they spoke with then Thomas Paine principal Janice Bradley the night of November 2nd, 2006, but the child wasn't interviewed by a district administrator until November 7th.
A spokesman for the Urbana School District had no comment as to why the girl wasn't interviewed earlier. White was never taken off the job before he was arrested in January of this year.
POLICE LEARN From the News Gazette - Police only learned of the problem when a police officer's wife had been told about the tasting game at a party by the mother who had complained to school officials in early November. Forty-eight hours later, White was under arrest.
Thomas Paine Principal Janice Bradley, District 116 Superintendent Gene Amberg and District 116 Human Resources director Carmelita Thomas – who have all retired since the case came to light
CHANGE OF VENUE Nov 29 - The abuse trial has been moved from Champaign County to Macon County.White's trial in Macon County will begin Feb 25. White also faces sex abuse charges in McLean County. He has another hearing in McLean County is scheduled for Jan 23.
TESTIMONY ALLOWED Dec 18 - Champaign County Judge Harry Clem has ruled that the statement a girl gave to an interviewer about the tasting game with White met the necessary legal standard for it to be admitted at trial.
SCHEDULED Jan 23, 2008 - The trial involving the Urbana students is scheduled to open Feb. 25 in Macon County, where it was moved because of extensive media coverage of the case. That trial is expected to last about three weeks. White’s next status hearing on the McLean County case is set for March 26.
GUILTY PLEA Feb 20 - White pleaded guilty to eight counts of aggravated criminal sexual in the Urbana cases. In exchange prosecutors dismissed the other 8 counts filed against him. He left the court room with his family. His parents and wife accompanied him to the hearing.
Attorneys for the 27-year-old former teacher say their client expects to plead guilty later on Wednesday to similar charges brought by McLean County authorities.
White will be sentenced April 3 and 4. The sentences are expected to run consecutively.
SENTENCING HEARING April 3 - John Pye, assistant superintendent at the Normal school district, testified at a two-day sentencing hearing in Champaign County court that Jon Andrew White was briefly suspended in 2004 for looking at porn.
SENTENCED April 4 - White was sentenced to 48 years in prison for the sexual abuse of the eight girls in Urbana. [TT - We still get angry at the grossness of recommending a sexual predator to another school.] LINK
May 5 - Parents mourn daughters' stolen innocence
Parents of 11 victims submitted letters to be read outloud in the sentencing hearing. White's attorneys presented 30 letters of support for him, many of them from relatives, neighbors in Villa Grove and at least one from a fellow Thomas Paine teacher.
April 28 - A two-day sentencing hearing begins today in McLean County.
SENTENCED IN McLEAN COUNTY April 29 - White was sentenced to an additional 12 years on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse for acts that happened with two girls, then 6 and 7, while he was a teacher at Colene Hoose Elementary School in Normal between Oct. 1, 2004, and April 30, 2005.
He was previously sentenced to 48 years in prison for abuse of girls in Urbana. The charges will run consecutively.
Cameron Belk, 38, is to appear in court Tuesday for a status call on his case.
NEW ARREST Feb 27 - White has been arrested on new charges. The warrant charges him with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child while he was a school teacher in Normal in October 2004.
His arrest on the McLean County charges, although not unanticipated, still came as a shock to him and several members of his family who had accompanied him to court, including his wife and parents, said his attorneys.
BAIL RAISED Feb 28 - White's bail has been raised to $1 million. White pleaded not guilty and will appear in court March 27 for a pre-trial hearing. He will be arraigned in at McLean County in the next few days.
ADDITIONAL CHARGES Mar 10 - Additional charges were filed. The charges bring to 11 the number of alleged victims in two counties.
Update Mar 30 - Attorneys for White filed a motion Friday to reduce his bond from $1 million to $500,000. An April 13 hearing has been set on the bond motion.
BOND REDUCED Apr 13 - Arguing against a bond reduction, prosecutor Michelle Brooks told Judge Scott Drazewski if the allegations against White are true -- "White is a serial pedophile who presents a tremendous threat to the community." The judge reduced the bond from $1 million to $750,000. White must post $75,000 to bond post in McLean County, but he still must pay $50,000 to bond out of Champaign County.
DNA EVIDENCE WMBD/WYZZ TV reported that White's attorney was "shocked" to learn DNA evidence would be introduced at Friday's hearing. That evidence is part of the Champaign County's case against White. Next court date is is June 22.
REMAINS IN JAIL Update June 7 - White's bond remains $1 million in Champaign County and he remains in jail. Authorities in both counties are trying to coordinate his trials.
BAIL: June 12 - White posted $175,000 bail.
HEARING SCHEDULED: Sept 26 - A hearing is scheduled next month to determine what evidence will be allowed in White's trial in Champaign County.
EVIDENTIARY HEARING Oct 26 - At an hearing to look at the evidence for an upcoming trial, the parents of the first victim to report trouble, said they spoke with then Thomas Paine principal Janice Bradley the night of November 2nd, 2006, but the child wasn't interviewed by a district administrator until November 7th.
A spokesman for the Urbana School District had no comment as to why the girl wasn't interviewed earlier. White was never taken off the job before he was arrested in January of this year.
POLICE LEARN From the News Gazette - Police only learned of the problem when a police officer's wife had been told about the tasting game at a party by the mother who had complained to school officials in early November. Forty-eight hours later, White was under arrest.
Thomas Paine Principal Janice Bradley, District 116 Superintendent Gene Amberg and District 116 Human Resources director Carmelita Thomas – who have all retired since the case came to light
CHANGE OF VENUE Nov 29 - The abuse trial has been moved from Champaign County to Macon County.White's trial in Macon County will begin Feb 25. White also faces sex abuse charges in McLean County. He has another hearing in McLean County is scheduled for Jan 23.
TESTIMONY ALLOWED Dec 18 - Champaign County Judge Harry Clem has ruled that the statement a girl gave to an interviewer about the tasting game with White met the necessary legal standard for it to be admitted at trial.
Because the statement was made to a third party, it is considered hearsay and therefore usually not admissible as evidence at trial. However, the law provides that such out-of-court statements to third parties may be admitted if a judge determines that the "time, content and circumstances provide sufficient safeguards of reliability."The interviewer and the girl's father had to be brought back to Urbana to testify at hearings on the reliability of the statement. Trial is now expected to begin in late February.
Clem already ruled that interviews done by Department of Children and Family Services workers at the Child Advocacy Center in Urbana in the cases of the other eight girls met the standard of reliability and can be admitted at trial. The ruling on the ninth girl's statement was delayed because her interview was done at a child advocacy center in Florida, where the family had moved in the spring of 2006.
SCHEDULED Jan 23, 2008 - The trial involving the Urbana students is scheduled to open Feb. 25 in Macon County, where it was moved because of extensive media coverage of the case. That trial is expected to last about three weeks. White’s next status hearing on the McLean County case is set for March 26.
GUILTY PLEA Feb 20 - White pleaded guilty to eight counts of aggravated criminal sexual in the Urbana cases. In exchange prosecutors dismissed the other 8 counts filed against him. He left the court room with his family. His parents and wife accompanied him to the hearing.
Attorneys for the 27-year-old former teacher say their client expects to plead guilty later on Wednesday to similar charges brought by McLean County authorities.
White will be sentenced April 3 and 4. The sentences are expected to run consecutively.
SENTENCING HEARING April 3 - John Pye, assistant superintendent at the Normal school district, testified at a two-day sentencing hearing in Champaign County court that Jon Andrew White was briefly suspended in 2004 for looking at porn.
SENTENCED April 4 - White was sentenced to 48 years in prison for the sexual abuse of the eight girls in Urbana. [TT - We still get angry at the grossness of recommending a sexual predator to another school.] LINK
May 5 - Parents mourn daughters' stolen innocence
Parents of 11 victims submitted letters to be read outloud in the sentencing hearing. White's attorneys presented 30 letters of support for him, many of them from relatives, neighbors in Villa Grove and at least one from a fellow Thomas Paine teacher.
April 28 - A two-day sentencing hearing begins today in McLean County.
SENTENCED IN McLEAN COUNTY April 29 - White was sentenced to an additional 12 years on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse for acts that happened with two girls, then 6 and 7, while he was a teacher at Colene Hoose Elementary School in Normal between Oct. 1, 2004, and April 30, 2005.
He was previously sentenced to 48 years in prison for abuse of girls in Urbana. The charges will run consecutively.
