Former Aurora teacher facing child porn charges found dead
A retired West Aurora High School teacher who went on the lam while awaiting trial on felony child pornography and solicitation charges was found dead Saturday afternoon from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Aurora police said.
Robert L. James, 63, of Aurora, was a no-show in court two months ago when prosecutors wanted to introduce additional evidence indicating that he had a sexual relationship with a student while still teaching at West Aurora in the mid-1990s.
Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said James' body was found about 1:30 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area on the 100 block of West Indian Trail Road by two caretakers preparing to clean up the area.
Authorities didn't know exactly how long James' body had been there, but Kane County Chief Deputy Coroner Loren Carrera said the body was not decomposed.
James was arrested in January 2016 on charges of child pornography production and possession, along with solicitation, records show.
His attorneys had contested some of the charges while the case was pending. The case was tentatively set for trial this month.
However, James didn't show up to court Feb. 16, when his attorneys planned to oppose Kane County prosecutors' efforts to introduce evidence that he had a relationship with a student in 1994. An arrest warrant was issued for James, who had been free on $30,000 bond.
James, who taught math at West Aurora from August 1985 through June 2014, was due in court Friday for a bond forfeiture hearing.
If convicted, he faced up to 30 years in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender.