ear old boy:
A woman who until Wednesday was a teacher at Reed-Custer High School in Braidwood is in the Will County jail on $1 million bail, accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.
Dayna Chidester, 50, is charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count each of indecent solicitation of a child and unlawful grooming for the alleged relationship she had with the teen, who lives in southwest suburban Manhattan and is not a student at Reed-Custer, authorities said.
Chidester, of Manhattan, was arrested Thursday, but she had resigned as a teacher on Wednesday in the wake of another investigation unrelated to the sex abuse allegations. School officials and police said the separate investigation involves allegations Chidester exchanged texts about illegal drugs with a student at Reed-Custer. No charges have been filed in that case.
Chidester appeared in Will County bond court Friday on the sex abuse case and broke down in tears as the charges were read and details of the case were revealed.
The alleged acts occurred between Sept. 1 and Dec. 27, 2018, according to the criminal complaint.
Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeff Brown detailed the alleged abuse, noting that Chidester engaged in various sexual acts with the minor at her home, in her car and at local motels. Brown said the relationship also included explicit text messages and nude photos sent between the two. He noted that child pornography charges may be added later based on the results of the ongoing investigation.
Chidester allegedly confirmed that text messages and photos were sent electronically and that she had a sexual relationship with the victim, according to a news release from the Will County state’s attorney’s office.
A man who identified himself as Chidester’s husband in court declined comment following the bond hearing in Joliet.
According to a statement from Reed-Custer Community School District Superintendent Mark Mitchell, Chidester resigned Wednesday, about two weeks after Braidwood police, based on a tip from a parent, launched an investigation of Chidester. The parent told a school resource officer that Chidester had been texting a student about illegal drugs, Mitchell said.
The Braidwood investigation is ongoing, according to Braidwood police Chief Nick Ficarello.
On Thursday, the day after Chidester resigned, Reed-Custer officials learned of her arrest for the alleged incidents with the Manhattan teen, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said Chidester was a consumer/family science teacher at Reed-Custer.
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Prosecutors said that Chidester taught at Thornwood High School in South Holland before joining the staff at Reed-Custer. She was listed as a science teacher for the 2015-16 school year at Thornwood, according to the Thornton Township High School District 205 website.
The investigation that led to the sex abuse charges was conducted by the Manhattan Police Department, the Will County state’s attorney’s office's high technology crimes unit and the Will County sheriff’s office.
In December, a 28-year-old teacher in the Reed-Custer school district, Kevin Macha, was charged with possession of child pornography.
In November, a lawsuit was filed against the school district by parents who alleged their son was subjected to hazing at a high school football practice and later endured harassment from students and at least one teacher. Mitchell called the allegations “baseless.” Three teens were charged criminally as juveniles in alleged incident.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/subu...with-sexual-abuse-of-teen-20190104-story.html
A woman who until Wednesday was a teacher at Reed-Custer High School in Braidwood is in the Will County jail on $1 million bail, accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.
Dayna Chidester, 50, is charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count each of indecent solicitation of a child and unlawful grooming for the alleged relationship she had with the teen, who lives in southwest suburban Manhattan and is not a student at Reed-Custer, authorities said.
Chidester, of Manhattan, was arrested Thursday, but she had resigned as a teacher on Wednesday in the wake of another investigation unrelated to the sex abuse allegations. School officials and police said the separate investigation involves allegations Chidester exchanged texts about illegal drugs with a student at Reed-Custer. No charges have been filed in that case.
Chidester appeared in Will County bond court Friday on the sex abuse case and broke down in tears as the charges were read and details of the case were revealed.
The alleged acts occurred between Sept. 1 and Dec. 27, 2018, according to the criminal complaint.
Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeff Brown detailed the alleged abuse, noting that Chidester engaged in various sexual acts with the minor at her home, in her car and at local motels. Brown said the relationship also included explicit text messages and nude photos sent between the two. He noted that child pornography charges may be added later based on the results of the ongoing investigation.
Chidester allegedly confirmed that text messages and photos were sent electronically and that she had a sexual relationship with the victim, according to a news release from the Will County state’s attorney’s office.
A man who identified himself as Chidester’s husband in court declined comment following the bond hearing in Joliet.
According to a statement from Reed-Custer Community School District Superintendent Mark Mitchell, Chidester resigned Wednesday, about two weeks after Braidwood police, based on a tip from a parent, launched an investigation of Chidester. The parent told a school resource officer that Chidester had been texting a student about illegal drugs, Mitchell said.
The Braidwood investigation is ongoing, according to Braidwood police Chief Nick Ficarello.
On Thursday, the day after Chidester resigned, Reed-Custer officials learned of her arrest for the alleged incidents with the Manhattan teen, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said Chidester was a consumer/family science teacher at Reed-Custer.
ADVERTISING
Prosecutors said that Chidester taught at Thornwood High School in South Holland before joining the staff at Reed-Custer. She was listed as a science teacher for the 2015-16 school year at Thornwood, according to the Thornton Township High School District 205 website.
The investigation that led to the sex abuse charges was conducted by the Manhattan Police Department, the Will County state’s attorney’s office's high technology crimes unit and the Will County sheriff’s office.
In December, a 28-year-old teacher in the Reed-Custer school district, Kevin Macha, was charged with possession of child pornography.
In November, a lawsuit was filed against the school district by parents who alleged their son was subjected to hazing at a high school football practice and later endured harassment from students and at least one teacher. Mitchell called the allegations “baseless.” Three teens were charged criminally as juveniles in alleged incident.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/subu...with-sexual-abuse-of-teen-20190104-story.html
