Aurora cheerleading coach arrested on sex abuse charge

A 51-year-old Oswego man and Aurora cheerleading coach accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old prostitute was apprehended Tuesday afternoon in Oswego.

Aurora police said Ray Saleh was arrested by members of the department's U.S. Marshals Fugitive Apprehension Task Force around 12:30 p.m. following a brief foot chase after he left a fast-food restaurant on the 200 block of Douglas Road.

A $500,000 arrest warrant was issued for Saleh on Friday afternoon after he was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor, patronizing a minor prostitute and patronizing a prostitute.

Naperville police Sgt. William Davis said the charges stem from a Sept. 26 encounter Saleh is accused of having with the girl in his vehicle that was captured by a nearby business's surveillance cameras near the intersection of 95th Street and Route 59 in Naperville.

Davis said witnesses identified Saleh as the man shown in two still photographs the department posted in late October as part of the investigation.

Chuck Pelkie, spokesman for the Will County state's attorney's office, said charging documents identified Saleh as a cheerleading coach at Aurora's ICE All-Stars at 2680 Diehl Road.

Any reference to Saleh was removed from the organization's website Tuesday and calls placed to the facility Tuesday were not returned.

Saleh is being held on $500,000 bail in Will County's Adult Detention Center in Joliet. He has a 9 a.m. court appearance on Wednesday.