Second Gavin teacher pleads guilty of failing to report sex abuse
The second of three teachers accused of not reporting the sexual assault of a student at Gavin Middle School in Ingleside pleaded guilty in Lake County court Monday.
John Keehan, 41, of Elgin, received 12 months of conditional discharge, and he is required to pay a $2,100 fine and make a $500 donation to the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center after Judge Brian Highes accepted his guilty plea to one count of reckless conduct.
Keehan was one of three former Gavin Elementary District 37 teachers charged for not reporting the sexual assault of a student by former teacher Michael Vucic, 41, of Lake Forest. In court, attorney Doug Zeit said Keehan didn't know about the sex assault while it was taking place, but he admitted to not turning in Vucic after he was told the abuse had taken place and after the student had left the district.
"We are glad to have this portion of this case behind us," Zeit said after court. Keehan refused to comment on the plea deal.
Keehan joins April Courtney, 35, of Wauconda, in pleading guilty to charges after failing to report Vucic had molested two students. Courtney was sentenced to 30 days in jail for failure to report the abuse.
Michael Lanners, 38, of Lake Villa, is scheduled to go to trial on the same charges later this month.
Vucic pleaded guilty Sept. 24 to charges of predatory criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, and two counts of possession of child pornography. He faces up to 82 years in prison when he is sentenced later this week.
Vucic remains held in Lake County jail without bail. Before his plea deal in September, he was charged with more than 50 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a child, aggravated child pornography, criminal sexual assault of a victim under the age of 17 and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Lanners, Courtney and Keehan previously pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of failing to report suspected child abuse. If found guilty, each could have been sentenced to up to one year in prison.
The allegations against Vucic surfaced when one victim told family members in August 2014 she had sexual contact with Vucic several times at the Ingleside school, authorities said. A second victim was discovered during the investigation, authorities 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 fired one month later for not reporting the suspected abuse to authorities and administrators, as required by law.
Lanners has not been a teacher at Gavin since 2002, but officials in Mundelein Elementary District 75 where he worked said he was placed on administrative leave and later fired because of the Vucic situation.
Hughes chastised Keehan in court for not reporting the suspected abuse, saying it allowed the unpunished perpetrator "to go free to abuse another child in the future."