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Wheeling man charged with sex assault of boy

A 22-year-old Wheeling man is accused of performing sex acts on a now 14-year-old Park Ridge boy he'd been baby-sitting from the summer of 2013 through the early spring of 2014.

Eric Levin, of the 200 block of 11th St. in Wheeling, has been charged with criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Bond was set at $300,000 Thursday and Levin's next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 30 at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.

According to the Cook County State's Attorney's office, Levin had been an after school teacherassistant and summer camp counselor at Jefferson School in Niles, where he first met the victim.

Levin ended his employment at the school in April 2012, becoming the boy's baby sitter afterward, authorities said.

During his time as a baby sitter, Levin sometimes would stay at the boy's house and sometimes the boy would stay at his, according to prosecutors.

Wheeling police charged Levin because the abuse is believed to have occurred at Levin's residence in Wheeling, Deputy Chief Todd Wolff said.

Though Levin has not yet entered a plea, he admitted to the sex acts in an interview with detectives, Wolff said.

The boy's grandparents first reported Levin to police after discovering incriminating text messages on April 29, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's office.

Park Ridge police referred the case to Wheeling police, Wolff said.

The criminal sexual assault charge is a class 1 felony with a potential sentence of 4 to 15 years in jail. The aggravated criminal sexual abuse charge is a class 2 felony with a potential sentence of 3 to 7 years.

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