A suburban Chicago high school teacher has turned himself in to authorities to face more than a dozen felony charges, including three for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor.
Jeremy Lind, a teacher at Oak Park River Forest High School, has been charged with three felony counts of criminal sexual assault involving an underage victim. He also faces four felony counts of traveling to meet a minor, four felony counts of indecent solicitation of a child and two felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, according to authorities.
The joint investigation between Chicago and Oak Park Police stemmed from the uncovering of “inappropriate encounters” with a minor, police said.
According to the high school’s website, Lind, 41, worked as an English teacher and a faculty advisor for a poetry performance club at Oak Park River Forest High School. The website also indicates that he chaperoned a school trip to Ireland last summer.
Police would not confirm if the victim is a student, but prosecutors in court Tuesday said the young female met Lind during the trip to Ireland.
According to prosecutors, the victim took summer classes with Lind and became his teaching assistant. The pair allegedly had a series of sexual encounters both in a downtown hotel room and in Lind's car on a street corner in Chicago.
Lind was placed on leave from his teaching job in mid-October. At the time, parents reported receiving an email notifying them that an investigation was underway with a member of the staff and asking anyone with information to call authorities.
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"When the allegations were reported, school officials immediately reported the information to the Department of Children and Family Services," Karin Sullivan, director of communications and community relations for the school said in a notice to parents. "The matter has been under investigation by Oak Park and Chicago law enforcement authorities since that time. We have requested that faculty and staff direct any students who want to discuss this issue or need support to speak with their counselor or their social worker."
Lind turned himself into Chicago Police late Monday afternoon and was ordered held on $150,000 bond Tuesday. Prosecutors said Lind's wife is also a teacher at the school, but the pair had been living separately and were in marital counseling.
