Ex-Antioch teacher indicted on child porn charges

A former teacher at Antioch Grade School was indicted Wednesday for possession child pornography.

Kenneth Lee Johnson, 59, of Wauconda, is charged with 10 counts of the offense, and a conviction on any could send him to prison for up to five years.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Mary Stanton said authorities began investigating Johnson earlier this year after the FBI said it had traced images of child pornography to a computer in his home.

Police raided his home in the 400 block of North Main Street on Jan. 20 and found more than 1,000 photographs and 100 video clips of child pornography.

In addition to admitting he had collected the pornography, police said Johnson gave them a lengthy statement in which he claimed to have molested as many as 75 boys during the past 35 years.

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said Wednesday detectives from his office have conducted an extensive investigation of those claims, but have not developed any evidence to substantiate them.

Johnson, who taught social studies at the Antioch school since 1989, was suspended immediately after his arrest and has since resigned his position.

Stanton said Johnson, who is held on $500,000 bond, is scheduled to appear for arraignment Feb. 25 before Circuit Judge John Phillips.