Teacher Charged with Sexual Assault
24-year-old accused of sexually assaulting 16-year-old
Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009 | Updated 6:28 AM CDT
Eric Cheung, 24, a teacher at Maria High School for girls, has been arrested and charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old.
A male teacher at an all-girls private high school on the South Side was arrested Friday and charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a female student.
Eric Cheung, 24, was arrested at his home in the 900 block of North Paulina Street and charged with criminal sexual assault, a felony, according to a Shakespeare District police lieutenant. The lieutenant said Cheung was being held in lockup as of Monday morning.
He teaches chemistry at Maria High School on the city's South Side.
Cheung, who had given all students his e-mail address for homework questions, at first had a normal teacher-student relationship with the girl. However, Cook County State's Attorney's spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said Monday the e-mail messages turned
to a more "inappropriate romantic" nature.
Simonton said between Oct. 15, 2008 and Dec. 19, 2008, Cheung took the girl in his classroom closet after school where he kissed
her, put his hand under her shirt and sexually assaulted her.
The prosecutor said Cheung is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Archdiocese of Chicago officials has not commented on the charges.
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