advertisement

Former teacher not guilty of failing to report Vucic sexual abuse

A former Mundelein elementary school teacher was found not guilty of failing to report to authorities that an Ingleside student was sexually assaulted by a former colleague.

Lake County Judge Brian Hughes ruled Michael Lanners, 38, of Lake Villa was not required by law to report the sexual abuse by former Gavin Middle School teacher Michael Vucic in 2007 because Lanners did not know the student in his "official or professional capacity" as a teacher working in another school district.

"Mr. Lanners, I've made my ruling, but what you did not do violates human decency," Hughes said in court Friday. "You knew what was going on. ... You were told about the behavior (by Vucic), and you did nothing."

Hughes added that Lanners' decision not to report the sexual assault was like driving up to a car crash, "driving by at 5 miles per hour, but doing nothing."

After the hearing, neither Lanners nor Assistant State's Attorney Tara Ori commented about the ruling.

"My client learned from this and feels terrible about it," defense attorney Barry Lewis said.

Lanners is the last of three former Gavin Middle School teachers who were charged with failing to report the sexual abuse of two students by Vucic, 41, of Lake Forest. Vucic pleaded guilty to sexual assault and was sentenced to 50 years in prison in September.

John Keehan, 41, of Elgin received 12 months of conditional discharge, and he was required to pay a $2,100 fine and make a $500 donation to the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center after pleading guilty to one count of reckless conduct. April Courtney, 35, of Wauconda was sentenced to 30 days in jail for failure to report the abuse.

Keehan and Courtney were District 37 employees when Vucic was accused of sexually assaulting two students. Lanners, who had previously worked in District 37, was teaching in Mundelein Elementary District 75 in 2007 when Vucic's sexual abuse took place, Hughes said in court.

The allegations against Vucic surfaced when one victim told family members in August 2014 she had sexual contact with Vucic several times in his classroom at the Ingleside school and when both of them would video-chat online, authorities said. A recording of sexual acts revealed the second victim, authorities said. The victims are no longer students at Gavin.

Videotapes showing Vucic and the victims engaged in sex acts were given to sheriff's office investigators and prosecutors by Courtney, authorities said. Vucic left instructions for friends to destroy the contents of the tapes should he die or be arrested, officials said.

Before a warrant was issued for Vucic's arrest, the 18-year Gavin instructor fled to Bosnia-Herzegovina in Europe, authorities said. He remained hidden for about three weeks before being captured in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

District 37 documents show Courtney and Keehan were placed on administrative leave in September 2014 and were fired one month later for not reporting the suspected abuse to authorities and administrators, as required by law. The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in prison. District 75 officials said Lanners was placed on administrative leave and later fired because of the Vucic situation.

Two Lake County teachers charged with not reporting sex abuse released on bail

Accused former Gavin teacher pleads not guilty

Trial set for former Gavin teacher

Trial for teacher continued

Judge delays decision on teacher accused of not reporting Gavin abuse

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.