A Chicago Public Schools theater teacher is charged with sexually assaulting a student, beginning when she was 15 years old.
Joel Ewing allegedly assaulted the now 21-year-old woman at Senn High School, where he taught, and at a hotel while they were on an overnight school trip.
The 40-year-old Ewing is charged criminal sexual assault. However, Cook County prosecutors on Tuesday told Judge Arthur Wesley Willis that he could end up facing multiple felonies.
Senn principal Mary Beck, in a letter to parents, said administrators were made aware of the allegations against Ewing on July 26 and that he was removed from his position.
A lawyer for Ewing noted the defendant's lack of criminal history, adding Ewing has been married for 14 years and has a young child.
Willis set Ewing's bail at $150,000.
