Sex offender charged with abuse in Glen Ellyn

A registered sex offender is being held on a $500,000 bond at the DuPage County jail after being accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl, officials said.

On Monday night, police arrested Gerard Schlaiss, 50, of 20 N. Parkside Ave. in Glen Ellyn. He has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

About 7 p.m., a woman reported she saw an older man inappropriately touching and kissing a child, Glen Ellyn Deputy Police Chief Bill Holmer said.

Schlaiss and the teenager live in the same apartment complex, authorities said.

"It appears that he's abused her in the past," Holmer said.

Schlaiss has lived in Glen Ellyn since 2005 and has been in compliance with registering as a sex offender, Holmer said.

"We haven't run across many arrests for offenders registered here," he said.

Schlaiss was convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old after an incident 17 years ago in Lake County, according to Illinois Sex Offender Registry Web site.

He's expected to appear in DuPage court on Oct. 10.