St. Charles North dean's assistant charged with sexual assault
A St. Charles North High School dean's assistant has been charged with having sexual contact with a minor between February and May and faces a minimum of eight years in prison of convicted, prosecutors said Friday.
Christopher A. Lee, 29, of the 300 block of N. 15th Street, St. Charles, faces two counts of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, both felonies.
Prosecutors say Lee had sexual contact with the person, who is younger than 18, between Feb. 1 and May 6.
A St. Charles School District 303 news release said Lee has been suspended without pay effective Thursday and the administration has recommended he be fired. The school board is expected to vote on the matter Monday.
Lee was in his first year as a dean's assistant and also had served as an assistant basketball coach the last five years, according to the school district.
The investigation began after an anonymous tip was given to the school's student resource officer.
"The most important step in the investigative process is that a person who suspected something was wrong told the school through the school resource officer," District 303 Superintendent Don Schlomann said. "Again, this demonstrates the responsibility we all have as community members to speak up if we have any knowledge of something that is not right. Student safety is our top priority and with that in mind, we will conduct an internal review of this incident in order to learn if there is anything we could have done differently."
Schlomann said the high school staff was notified Friday morning of Lee's arrest and teachers during third hour read an announcement to students, also asking students with more information to come forward. Parents also were informed of Lee's arrest Friday morning via email.
Schlomann said he wanted to conduct an internal review to find out what, if anything, the district could have done differently to prevent the situation.
Schlomann praised his staff for their professionalism and credited students for focusing on their studies.
"Anytime you have these types of situations, it's disappointing and saddening among our staff and students that this occurred," Schlomann said.
Prosecutors say the case remains under investigation and people with additional information should call St. Charles Police at (630) 377-4435 or the Kane County Child Advocacy Center at (630) 208-5160. Lee must post $15,000 to be released from jail while the case is pending.
If he does, he is to have no contact with the victim, no unsupervised contact with anyone younger than 18.
If convicted of the most severe charges, Lee would have to register for life as a sex offender.
He is next due in court May 20.