St. Charles school aide pleads not guilty to abuse charge

A 55-year-old St. Charles School District 303 special education aide pleaded not guilty today to charges he fondled a student.

Robert Swanson of St. Charles faces charges of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

If convicted, the most serious charge carries mandatory prison time and a range of six and 30 years.

Swanson was indicted by a Kane County grand jury in August.

He is charged with fondling on March 30 an 8-year-old girl, who was not one of his students. He has been a special needs aide at Lincoln Elementary School since 2002 and has been placed on paid administrative leave since April.

His next court date is Nov. 7 before Judge Philip DiMarzio.

Swanson has no prior criminal record in Kane County. He had his bail reduced to $50,000 from $300,000 and is free on bond.

Also on Friday, Swanson hired a new attorney, Tim Mahoney, to defend him. His first attorney, D.J. Tegeler asked to recuse himself from the case because he represented the girl's mother in a prior civil case.