October 31, 2008 - Michael J. Wetzell, 31, dean of students at Litchfield High School, was sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to the aggravated battery of a female stud
ent.
He was charged in March with sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl at Litchfield High School. Police in Montgomery County say Wetzell also provided that girl with alcohol.
FROM A MARCH STORY: Rumors about a relationship between the girl and Wetzell surfaced in January. School officials investigated but found no evidence of an inappropriate relationship, and Wetzell denied the accusations. In February he resigned, effective at the end of the school year, because his family wanted to move back to Rock Falls. They moved back, while Wetzell stayed behind to finish out the year. Two concerned students called school officials and the police March 17.
Montgomery County State's Attorney Chris Matoush said Thursday that Wetzell must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, as well as a parole period after he is released ranging from three years to natural life. He also must register as a convicted sex offender.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Litchfield, ILLINOIS
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Spring Grove, ILLINOIS
Elementary school principal found in motel with two underage girls and they weren't watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks."
April 8, 2008 - Daniel Markofski, 47, the principal of Spring Grove Ele
mentary School, was arrested and charged with two counts of exposing a child to harmful material and one count of sexual intercourse with a child age 16 or older. Both girls were from Milwaukee.
Markofski was arrested after an officer on patrol found him partially clothed in a Glendale motel with two girls, ages 15 and 16, on Saturday. The police officer noticed the smell of pot coming from a room at the Super 8 Motel on Port Washington Road. The girls were partially nude. Police say Markofski had alcohol and marijuana.
According to a criminal complaint, Markofski admitted that he met the 16-year-old girl in an online chat room. He told authorities that he and the girl had talked on the phone several times and that he had taken her to the motel twice. The 15-year-old was a friend of the other girl. She accompanied them to the beach and then the motel room. said they talked about watching a movie. She asked to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks, but says Markofski ordered a pornographic movie instead. According to the 15-year-old, shortly after the movie started, Markofski had sexual contact with the 16-year-old and and took sexually explicit pictures of the 16-year-old with his cell phone.
He has been suspended with pay. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 18.
Full Name: David Scott Markofski
EMPLOYMENT He is licensed to teach in Wisconsin. According to state records, he taught at North Lake Elementary in Boulder Junction from 1994 to 1997. He was a teacher then assistant principal at Arbor Vitae-Woodruff Elementary School from 1997 to 2005. He was principal of both Blackhawk and Tower Rock elementary schools, which are in the Sauk Prairie School district, from 2005 to 2006. (From Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
NO SHOW April 9 - In 2005, Markofski abruptly resigned as a school principal. He just didn't show up for work. Craig Bender, the superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District in Sauk City, Wis. said that one day Markofski just disappeared. “We couldn’t track him down.” he said.
He told the school district that he was going through a divorce and struggling with personal issues when the superintendent contacted him shortly after he stopped showing up to work. Markofski’s divorce was finalized in January 2006.
SCHOOL BOARD VOTES April 15 - – District 2 board members voted unanimously Tuesday to fire Spring Grove Principal Dan Markofski. That came despite Markofski tendering a letter of resignation to the district earlier Tuesday.“They wanted to have on public record that they chose to dismiss him,” Superintendent Dan Oest said.
The school board admitted that they did not call his previous employer and promises to to check with all previous employers.
NOT GUILTY PLEA April 18 - Markofski waived a preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty.
TRIAL DATE SCHEDULED for August 6 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. (Found in this story on drug testing.)
SENTENCED October 30 - Marfofski pleaded guilty in September to having sex with a child 16 or older and to two counts of exposing a child to harmful material. This week he was sentenced to one year in prison and 18 months of extended supervision. Markofski will also have to REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER.
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ONLINE RESOURCE: You can find teacher license revocations in the minutes of the Illinois State Teacher Certification Board. No reasons are given, however, for the disciplinary action. (You cannot assume that it was for criminal acivity as many states revoke licenses for failure to pay back funds advanced for professional training.)
Sample Of those listed in these minutes, we have entries for Church, Pappas and Williams. All three were sentenced for sexual misconduct with students.
Chicago, ILLINOIS
Yet another 60-something teacher arrested this week for child pornography. 
October 30, 2008 - Samuel Hossin, 61, was charged Wednesday with one count of aggravated dissemination 
of child porn and one count of aggravated possession of child porn.
Officers from the sheriff's Child Exploitation Unit began investigating Hossin last summer after receiving a tip that he had child pornography on his computer, the release said. Police executed a search warrant in early September, seizing a loaded .38 caliber handgun, several computers and a computer hard drive found hidden behind a basement ceiling.
Hossin worked as a teacher for CPS for 30 years before retiring in 2006. He worked as a sixth-grade teacher at a South Side school.
He is slated to appear again in court Nov. 13.
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TT - See our lists of educators who have pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing, and those sentenced for child pornography. The ages will surprise you.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Chicago, ILLINOIS
BOND SET October 27, 2008 - Bond was set at $100,000 for Rebecca Daniels, 37, a teacher at Perspectives Charter Calumet High School. Daniels is facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting at least one male student.
A school official said the allegations were reported to police and the Department of Children and Family Services on Thursday, and Daniels has been suspended.
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TT - No other details. No other online stories.
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October 31 - From the Chicago Defender:
A white drama teacher at Calumet Perspective High School on the South Side was charged last week with three felonies after allegedly sleeping with three Black teenage boys.Daniels allegedly had a sexual relationship with two 16 year olds and one 15 year old during the summer.
According to Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State’s Attorney Office, Rebecca Daniels, 37, was charged with one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault and two counts of criminal sexual assault.Malon Edwards, a spokesman for Chicago Public Schools, said Calumet is a charter school and not operated by CPS.
Chicago Defender (Oct 30) The Calumet High School Web site lists her as a speech and drama teacher who moved to Chicago from Ohio.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Kudos
October 21, 2008 - Scott Reeder statehouse bureau chief for The Daily Journal and its sister newspapers in Moline, Rock Island and Ottawa, is to receive top national honors for investigative reporting from the Inland Press Association.
He was awarded first place for his series "Hidden Violations," which examined deficiencies in how Illinois deals with problem teachers.
Key findings of the investigation were:
* Of the 50 states, only Virginia revokes or suspends fewer teaching certificates than Illinois.
* No investigators are employed by the Illinois State Board of Education so reports of teacher misconduct are often not investigated or acted upon.
* Teachers hired before 2004 have not had to undergo a state-mandated national criminal background check
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TT - Congratulations. See Jan/Feb 2008 article he wrote about the series for Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. The IRE Journal
At present, we can't link to the articles. Hopefully, they will fix that soon.
Bloomington, ILLINOIS
In May, he had a Bible with him in the courtroom and blew kisses to supporters as security escorted him out of the courtroom.
ARRESTED May 7, 2007 - James Love, 37, a substitute teacher at District 87 and Unit 5, arrested last weekend, was ar
rested again on new charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and aggravated battery. The new allegations relate to two more victims. Police say the first alleged incident happened at Love's home, and the victim is between 13 and 16 years old.
He was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and aggravated battery for administering an anesthetic agent for other than medical purposes.
Police spokesman Duane Moss says the new charges also involve minors.
Parents and others who may have information on the case to contact Bloomington Police Detective Michael Burns at 434-2457.
Love is a minister at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church in Bloomington. His work with youth was cited when he received Bloomington's 2006 Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Award. He also was a substitute teacher in Bloomington and Normal.
Love is, apparently, accused of anesthetizing and molesting a child under age 13.
FOURTH BOY May 16 - A fourth boy has come forward to accuse a former substitute teacher in Twin City schools of molestation. Love is to be arraigned on May 18th.
NOT GUILTY PLEA May 18 - Love pleaded not guilty to molesting four boys at his home. Love is being held in the McLean County Jail on $40,000 bail. He is due back in court June 22.
Love, a youth minister, had a Bible with him in the courtroom and blew kisses to supporters as security escorted him out of the courtroom.
TRIAL SCHEDULED June 22 - Trial has been scheduled for July 22.
TRIAL POSTPONED July 13 - The trial has been postponed at the request of the at prosecutors, who said they are waiting for DNA evidence. A status hearing is scheduled for July 21.
INDICTED Oct 17 - Love has been indicted on federal charges of child pornography. The U.S. Attorney says Love photographed two young boys for the purposes of child pornography.Those images were allegedly among the pornographic pictures found on Love's computer when police searched his home last month. He has been charged with two counts of production of child pornography.
Love will enter a plea to the new charges in Peoria federal court on October 29.
The state case is scheduled for trial on Dec 10.
NOT GUILTY PLEA Oct 29 - Love pleaded not guilty. While the Peoria trial is scheduled for Oct 29, the Federal trial is scheduled for Dec 17.
DELAY GRANTED Nov 21 - Love has been granted a defense request for a delay in his trial until federal charges are settled. His attorney contends that Love would have a better chance of getting a concurrent sentence if his state trial comes after he faces charges in federal court.
He has been granted permission to see his son - but only under supervision.
WJBC: Prosecutor Michelle Brooks also revealed in court there are still other, unidentified victims in pornographic photos found during the investigation and she urges anyone with information to call police. (See note at SENTENCED below.)
TRIAL SCHEDULED Jan 3, 2008 - Love’s federal trial on production of pornography is scheduled to begin in Peoria on Feb. 25. The local case will be on hold until the federal case is over.
INSANITY? Feb 2 - Love's attorney has filed a motion in Federal court maintaining that Love may have been legally insane when he allegedly photographed four teenage boys after sedating and molesting them at his home last year. The attorney says that says Love may be suffering from a mental disease that prevents him from understanding the charges. He has asked the court to order a psychiatric exam to determine if Love is competent to stand trial.
JUDGE ORDERS DELAY Feb 8 - The judge has delayed the trial while Love is evaluated.
GUILTY PLEA September 30 - Love pleaded guilty in Federal court to charges of producing sexually explicit photos of minors while they were sleeping. Under terms of the plea agreement, Love will serve 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing guidelines require Love to complete 85 percent of the prison term.The McLean County charges would be dismissed under the terms of the plea deal.
NOTE: Love has agreed to help prosecutors identify a victim in the photos.
Formal sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 23. That’s when U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm will consider the plea agreement.
STATE CHARGES DROPPED October 29 - State charges against Love have been dropped.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Deland, ILLINOIS
Feb 28, 2007 - Randy DeJaynes, 56, was arrested Tuesday evening for investigation of alleged sexual acts with one or more male students.
An English teacher at DeLand-Weldon High School, DeJaynes is being held on $15,000 bail. He is on paid administrative leave. 
Full Name: Randy L. DeJaynes
Update - Thanks to correction by poster. DeJaynes views were conservative.
NOT GUILTY PLEA Mar 30 - DeJaynes pleaded not guilty. The attorney representing DeJaynes, entered the plea and requested a jury trial. DeJaynes was placed on paid administrative leave by the Deland-Weldon School District. The school board later decided not to rehire DeJaynes for the coming school year. DeJaynes has been teaching full-time at Deland-Weldon for the past two years.
DeJaynes, is also facing child pornography charges in Macon County following a March 22 grand jury indictment for allegedly possessing, with intent to disseminate, photographs of a boy younger than 18 in a sexual act.
RESIGNATION Apr 17 - DeJaynes resigned.
GUILTY PLEA August 27, 2008 - Randy DeJaynes pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
Under a deal with prosecutors, he'll be sentenced to two years probation.TT - Something is very odd about that whole thing.
Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Dobson says prosecutors plan to drop charges alleging DeJaynes molested some male students at DeLand-Weldon High School.
SENTENCED (Sorta) October 7 - DeJaynes was sentenced to two years' probation. Prosecutors have said they plan to drop charges accusing the former English teacher of molesting students at DeLand–Weldon High School, 25 miles northeast of Decatur
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Metamora, ILLINOIS
September 5, 2008 - Stephen J. Chromik, 25, a Metamora High School teacher and soccer coach, was ordered held on $100,000 bond for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old
female student.
He is charged with criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse for two alleged incidents in May at his Peoria County apartment.
Assistant State's Attorney Steve Pattelli said authorities learned of the alleged sexual relationship after the girl, a member of the school's soccer team, told some of her friends that Chromik grabbed her from behind by a belt loop and pulled her close to him at a soccer practice in May. Nothing more happened, and the girl didn't report the incident but told some of her friends on the team, Pattelli said in open court.HIGHER BOND: In seeking the high bond, Pattelli told Judge Glenn Collier that Chromik was on probation at the time for a felony aggravated assault from Tennessee. That case, which was pled down from a sexual battery charge, apparently stemmed from an 2003 incident at Vanderbilt University, where Chromik was linked to an incident at the school. He was placed on five years' probation beginning in 2005, according to court records.
News filtered to district officials, who then investigated along with police. Later, it was learned the girl had gone to Chromik's apartment twice and had sex, Pattelli said.
Chromik resigned from the district in July and apparently moved out of the area.
Chromik's arrest comes nearly a year after a rash of teacher-involved sexual crimes stung Peoria and the surrounding area. Three teachers were convicted within the past year of engaging in sexual relationships with students, past or present. They involved teachers from two District 150 schools as well as an Illini Bluffs teacher.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Zeeland, MICHIGAN
Settlement agreement avoids tenure hearing. (And the endless reviews that would mean.)
August 26, 2008 - Zeeland Public Schools reached a settlement agreement that will allow Timothy S. Oonk, 50 to resign, avoiding a tenure hearing where Oonk planned to fight to regain his job.
The school board voted in April to fire Oonk, despite his tenure, for what administrators called unprofessional and unethical misconduct, including a violation of a "last chance agreement" Oonk signed in May 2006 after testing positive for alcohol while teaching.The Grand Rapids Press filed a Freedom of Information request and got a copy of the agreement.
The agreement, obtained by The Press through the Freedom of Information Act, calls for the school district to continue paying Oonk his salary until Dec. 9, and his union-sponsored insurance, except for long-term disability, through May 2009, or until he obtains comparable coverage through another employer.A tenure hearing had been scheduled for last week, but the settlement agreement avoided it.
Oonk will have been paid $59,412 in salary from March 6, when he was placed on leave, to the date in the separation agreement, Assistant Superintendent Mary Colton said. The district also will have paid $19,119 in health benefit premiums on Oonk's behalf from March 2008 to May 2009, she said.
Nothing in the separation agreement prevents Oonk from taking a position in another school system, but Iorio said he doesn't know Oonk's plans.
The reason?
"No matter how strong a tenure case is, it's in the best interest of the district to settle before it goes to a hearing," Mutch said. "The law requires the district to continue paying the teacher until there's a decision, and there's never any certainty of outcome if you go through the whole process."---------------------------------
RECOMMENDED: Scott Ridder's award-winning series, "The Hidden Costs of Tenure," was the result of a six-month investigation into tenure. Some findings. It costs, on average, $219,000 to fire a tenured teacher. Few are ever fired for incompetence. Of 95,000 teachers, only an average of two are fired for incompetence. Read the whole thing. Because what he found is true in every state.
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Google Map for the district. The district rates a 7 at GreatSchools.net
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Union Infighting.
August 20, 2008 - The Chicago Teachers Union's executive board voted to expel vice president Ted Dallas following allegations of financial improprieties. The vote was 34-2 to convict him of "financial impropriety." The vote to expel was 31 -5.
Dallas, who is on a leave of absence from teaching at Wells High School, has been at odds with President Marilyn Stewart over how union money has been spent since she took office in 2004. In court papers filed a few months ago, Dallas countercharged that Stewart mismanaged the union's finances and spent about a half-million dollars on food over a 12-month period.
The union said he improperly used union money to pay himself for sick days and meals.
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TT - Chicago Public Radio provided amazing 20 sec. insight. "Teachers Union Trial a Sign of Infighting"
The feud started last year. That's when word got out the union had spent millions of dollars in surplus funds and had gone into debt. Dallas says the trial against him is retaliation for accusing the administration of mismanaging that money.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Urbana, ILLINOIS
Charges filed against three district officials who failed to report suspected child abuse.
August 7, 2008 - Criminal charges have been filed against former superintendent Gene Amberg, former human resources director Carmelita Thomas and former Thomas Paine Elementary School principal Janis Bradley.
These charges allege that the two top administrators and the school principal were aware or should have been aware of child abuse or neglect occurring in Thomas Paine Elementary School.
The state's attorney says all three former Urbana school district employees were mandated reporters and required by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Child and Family Services.All three district officials are now retired. All face up to a year in prison. They are eligible for probation. Failure to report is a Class A misdemeanor.
They are scheduled to appear in court August 22.
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BACKGROUND Jon White was found guilty of sexually abusing eight little girls at Thomas Paine Elementary School earlier this year. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison for abusing children in two counties.
TT entry for White.
Mandatory reporting is an inside joke. Not only is failure to report a misdemeanor but it doesn't result in revocation of a teacher's or administrator's license. The intent of Mandatory Reporting laws adopted in every state was to to require teachers, administrators, school personnel as well as other professionals - doctors, dentists, health care and mental health workers and others who have contact with children - to report their suspicions to the police or child welfare agencies. There is ABSOLUTELY NO LIABILITY should the report be in error. See previous entry.
We recently came across a 2005 paper by Daniel C. Swinton, "Criminal Liability, Failure to Report Child Abuse, and School Personnel: An Examination of History, Policy and Caselaw." that concludes that "the criminal liability affixed to mandatory reporting statutes for school personnel is hardly more than window dressing, or a vague, unrealized threat." He also notes that teachers have consistently reported a lower percentage of cases than other professionals.
You can be sure that if a doctor failed to report sexual or physical abuse of a child that later suffered other injuries, he would be liable to a malpractice lawsuit and a threat to his license, not to mention lawsuit by the parents. However, teachers and school officials have no such enforcement mechanisms and no professional penalties.
Eight children were needlessly abused because school officials ignored their legal, not to mention, human, responsibilities. The children and their families spent a year anticipating an ugly trial before White pleaded guilty.
At his sentencing, his lawyer presented 30 letters of support for his client, one from a fellow Thomas Paine teacher.
Decatur, ILLINOIS
August 12, 2008 - Scott M. Brown, a P.E. teacher and the girls' volleyball coach at McArthur High School before resigning last year, was arrested July 18 charged with fi
ve counts of possessing child pornography with intent to disseminate.
He will be arraigned Friday.
No other online stories available.
-------------------------------
Macon County
CASE #: 2008 CF 001138
Arraignment scheduled 1:30 pm August 15, 2008.
Springfield, ILLINOIS
Declared not guilty by reason of insanity.
Nov 13, 2007 - Louis M. Kovin, 39, a technology teacher at Springfield Middle School, was arrested after a police chase that followed a meeting with school administrators. He was reportedly upset after the meeting.
Two schools were in lockdown while police looked for him. 
When they found him, a chase ensued. Deputies said the van repeatedly swerved into the opposite lane, ran vehicles off the road, and three times veered toward oncoming police cars.
They stopped him with road spikes.
He was being held in the Lucas County jail on two counts of felonious assault, felony fleeing and eluding, reckless operation, and inducing panic.
Nov 14 - From 13abc: The school board will discuss Kovin. 13abc learned that last March administrators put Kovin on a last chance employment agreement. A letter explains, Kovin may have accessed inappropriate websites while at the school. Last week, we are told Kovin quit his job, but then changed his mind.
Nov 14 - From the Toledo Blade: Kovin was taken to Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare. He threatened suicide in a telephone call to his wife.
The meeting Monday was in regard to Mr. Kovin's behavior Nov. 6 when he apparently became distraught over a complaint made by a parent about his interaction with a female student in his technology class, according to records contained in his personnel file.An evaluation in March said he "worked diligently to provide his students with interesting and relative lessons."
He cleaned out his desk, turned in his keys and identification badge, tore his name off his mailbox, and left the building about 1:50 p.m., according to records.
During a meeting Friday, Mr. Kovin said it was no longer his intention to resign.
A letter Monday from Ms. Hott said, "You conducted yourself in a manner which does not reflect the behavior of a professional educator both with and in front of students and colleagues."
INSANITY DEFENSE Nov 21 - Kovin asked a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge yesterday that his competency to stand trial be evaluated and he be found not guilty by reason of insanity. Kovin will be recommended for termination at the Nov. 28 board of education meeting.
DECLARED INCOMPETENT Dec 19 - Kovin was declared incompetent to stand trial in Lucas County Common Pleas Court yesterday and was ordered to undergo therapy at a local mental-health facility.
"The conclusion is that the defendant is responsive to medication, however, not presently competent," Judge McDonald said. He said Mr. Kovin could be restored to competency within a year with proper medication.Judge Frederick McDonald referred to seven-page report authored by a doctor at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare when making his decision.
COMPETENT Jan 16, 2008 - Less than a month later, Kovin has been declared capable of assisting in his own defense. The defense still plans an insanity plea. The judge referred Kovin to the Court Diagnostic and Treatment Center to determine whether the plea would be appropriate. The issue will be heard Feb. 12 by Judge Frederick McDonald.
SECOND EXAM ORDERED Feb 13 - The judge ordered a second psychological evaluation to help Judge Frederick McDonald rule on whether to accept his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. The judge ordered the evaluation at the request of the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office.
CONTINUED TREATMENT August 13 - A judge ordered continued treatment for Kovin that includes psychiatric treatment and medications. Kovin was found not guilty by reason of insanity May 13 after a bench trial before Judge Frederick McDonald. Because he is under the court's jurisdiction for as long as he could have been sentenced if found guilty, Mr. Kovin must continue to undergo treatment and will have periodic court appearances.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Lombard, ILLINOIS
June 7, 2007 - George A. Langlotz, 58, was arrested and charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse for an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old female student.
Langlotz is a drivers education teacher at Glenbard East High School. He was put on paid leave after being suspended May 31.
Naperville Police Media Release. LINK Dated June 7, 2007
Press Release PDF Dated June 7, 2007.
A court appearance is scheduled for July 11.
The Naperville Police Department asks that anyone with additional information please contact Lieutenant Kenneth Parcel, Investigations Section Commander, at 630-305-5485.
June 7 - Langlotz is on paid leave. And "further employment action is pending." He's not the first local teacher at the high school to be sexually involved with a students. From Argus Press Spectator:
Langlotz is the second teacher in the last five years at Glenbard East to be accused of having sex with students.SENTENCED August 10, 2008 - Langlotz pleaded guilty in April to the charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He was sentenced last week in Will County Circuit Court to three years of sex offender probation.
Laurie Augustine was arrested in October 2002 after police said she had sex with three underage male students at the school while she worked as a library assistant at Glenbard East. Augustine attempted to set up a sexual encounter with one of the victims at a store the boy worked at in Yorktown Center, where police took her into custody.
She was later charged with 40 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault. The DuPage County state’s attorneys office said the incidents occurred between Sept. 1 and Oct. 10, 2002.
Augustine pleaded guilty in July 2004 to one count of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. As part of the deal reached by prosecutors and Augustine’s defense attorneys, she was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Augustine admitted to having sex with the students on three separate occasions, two of which happened at the school. Two of the students were 16 years old and one was 17 at the time of the incidents, prosecutors said.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Urbana, ILLINOIS
July 25, 2008 - Cameron Belk, 40, a teacher's aide in a special-needs classroom at Urbana Middle School, was convicted by a jury on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, despite his contention that he thought the young woman he was having sex with was 17 or older.
The girl was 16 and worked for him in his store. Belk was arrested on Oct. 2, 2006, at Urbana Middle School, where he worked as a teacher's aide.
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TT - Urbana has been in the news in the last few years. Jon White was sentenced to 60 years in April for sexual abuse of his elementary school students in two different districts. 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.
Link is to TT entry.
In August, 2007, Yuri Ermakov, 27, a University Laboratory High School assistant track coach,was sentenced to 12 years prison for engaging in a sex act with a 15-year-old girl.
Link is to TT entry.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Harvard, ILLINOIS
He testified he did not believe he did anything improper.
May 31, 2008 - A jury found Matthew Konetski, 32, a substitute teacher, guilty of unlawful restraint and aggravated battery for taping an two boys, including an unruly 8-year-old to his chair and taping their mouths. Both charges are felonies.
Konetski was a substitute in a special education class at Jefferson Elementary School. In the four-day trial, Konetski testified that the actions were necessary to control his special education classroom.
"It was not to scare them or make them feel uncomfortable," he said. "It was to get the point across, in a fun way, without yelling at them."During closing arguments his defense told jurors state law grants teachers parent-like rights when dealing with students, including authority to restrain a child when necessary.
A first-year substitute with no training in special education, Konetski testified he did not believe he did anything improper.
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TT - When a fully-trained, 20-year-veteran special education teacher in Florida deliberately chose to abuse children despite her training and the parents complained, the teacher's union sent a "cease and desist" [your complaining] letter to the parents. The district then moved Kathleen Garrett to another school where the pattern of abuse of other students continued .
She was eventually convicted by a jury. TT entry
Special education students are some of the most vulnerable in our society and in our schools. Their parents are, just as other parents are, wholly dependent upon a caring and competent administration to oversee the teachers they hire and the substitutes they allow in a classroom.
Cameras in every classroom would mean no great expenditure, but they are resisted by both administrators and unions. And some, but not all, teachers. It's very tempting to conclude that administrators who fail to adequately supervise now, just don't want the responsibility of doing just that.
At the same time, teachers who need recognition of the difficulties in the classroom sometimes can't get the attention of those in charge and the resources they require that could be documented by a camera. How much easier would it be to justify expelling a student with that kind of evidence, leaving the rest of the school population without that disturbing presence?
How much easier would it be if teachers who cross boundaries with their students could be curbed before the relationships become unhealthy? How much easier would it be to document a poorly-performing teacher? Ignorance isn't an excuse. Not when there are tools available that could prevent criminal activity or eliminate bad teachers.
The same administrations that have no trouble installing cameras to watch students on campus ought to have have cameras to protect them in the classroom as well.
SENTENCED July 16 -Konetski was sentenced to two years' probation. In addition to probation, Konetski has been ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform 80 hours of community service.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Plainfield, ILLINOIS
July 3, 2008 - Paul Graff, 35, a physical education and health teacher at Wesmere Elementary School, is accused of sexually abusing a girl under age 13 at Hinsdale's public pool and at two homes between 1996 and 2001. He was arrested in 2006. A hearing is scheduled for July 22.
He is charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, stemming from incidents alleged to have happened in 1996, after he befriended the girl's family. Graff was 23 at the time and working at the Hinsdale Community Swimming Pool. Additionally, Graff is accused of abusing the girl between January and June 2001 in a Clarendon Hills home. In all four instances, the girl was younger than 13.
Graff has been free on bond since his Oct. 20, 2006, arrest. He was placed on leave from the school following his arrest. A court hearing is scheduled for July 22.
Full Name: Paul A. Graff
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Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 statement on his arrest (dated October 20, 2006)
DuPage County States Attorney Press Release (undated, but at the time of his arrest)
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Highland, ILLINOIS
FOUND NOT GUILTY OF SEX ABUSE CHARGE.
July 26, 2007 - Thomas Pagliaro, 32, a special education teacher at Highland High School, was arrested after a brief chase with a 16-year-old girl in his car. He was charged aggravated criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual abuse and aggravated fleeing from a police officer.
He also is charged with speeding, failing to use headlights when required, driving an uninsured vehicle, disobeying a stop sign and criminal damage to property.
Police were on increased patrol in area in response to a number of car break-ins and car thefts when Pagliaro sped away when police approached. He crashed into a mailbox.
Before being hired by Highland, Pagliaro taught at Marquette Catholic High School in Alton.
July 31 - Pagliaro resigned.
NOT GUILTY OF SEX ABUSE CHARGE July 2, 2008 - After a bench trial, Associate Judge Richard Tognarelli found Pagliaro not guilty of aggravated criminal sexual abuse but convicted on a count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. The latter count was for Pagliaro driving away from sheriff's deputies who had spotted him and the girl sitting in a parked car in the 4700 block of D'Adrian Drive, Godfrey, just after midnight last July 26.
No sentencing date given.
FOUND NOT GUILTY OF SEX ABUSE CHARGE.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Lombard, ILLINOIS
SENTENCED
Feb 28, 2008 -
Robert Johnson, 43, a teacher at Montini Catholic High School, was arrested and has been charged with battery after he was accused of "inappropriate touching" of a student in a classroom earlier this month.
Further details about the victim and the alleged incident were not released. The only thing known at this time is that the student was male.
He is due on court Mar 27.
Full Name: Robert W. Johnson
GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING July 1 - Johnson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery of the 18-year-old student, with whom Johnson was purportedly having disciplinary problems. t.
DuPage Assistant State's Atty. Karin Karavalos told Judge Michael Burke that Johnson approached the student Feb. 19, complained about his work, then grabbed or squeezed the student's private parts. Moments later, Johnson made a hand gesture suggesting he would do it again, but did not,Johnson was sentenced to 2 years of supervision, ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, ordered not to resume a teaching career or have any public service employment around juveniles, and to have counseling approved by the probation department.
Karavalos said."There were four girls present in the classroom, making this a crude act that caused embarrassment," Karavalos said. "A teacher is supposed to mold minds, not insult by grabbing a student's private parts.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Fox River Grove, ILLINOIS
Vegan teacher dismissal hearing.
June 23, 2008 - A Board of Education dismissal hearing for a middle school teacher who was fired for "turning his classroom into a forum on veganism," abandoning the art curriculum and asking students to keep it a secret from their parents according to school board documents.
What began as a simple be-kind-to-animals project approved by administrators who even participated--marshmallow Easter "Peeps" were made into "pets" to be cared for--got out of hand when Warwak put the "pets" in cages, pots and pans and between slices of bread.The hearing officer repeatedly admonished that the hearing wasn't about whether veganism, "is right or wrong or good or bad."
"The problem was when it turned into a PETA advertisement and it was against the school lunch program," testified Fox River Grove Middle School Principal Tim Mahaffy at the Illinois Board of Education's three day closed hearings into Warwak's dismissal conducted at the Fox River Grove City Hall in April.
Cornell University Professor Emeritus Dr. T. Colin Campbell testified.
Arbitrator has yet to make a ruling about David Warwak.
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Patterico's Pontification had a post on Warwak.