Naperville man, a former high school teacher, pleads guilty to molesting student in Will County
A 28-year-old Naperville man and former Wilmington High School teacher and girls basketball coach pleaded guilty to charges of having a sexual relationship with a student.
Jonathan D. Lewis, of the 1500 block of Fairway Drive, was sentenced to 30 months of probation and a lifetime registration as a sex-offender. He
pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated criminal sexual abuse charge and child pornography in a "negotiated disposition." As part of his plea, Will County prosecutors dropped four counts of criminal sexual assault and three counts each of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and child pornography.
"This is the disposition that was sought by the victim an the victim's family because they are interested in moving on and putting this situation behind them," said state's attorney spokesman Charles Pelkie. "Ultimately they wanted to make sure (Lewis) was held accountable while avoiding having the victim testify at trial."
Lewis was free on $1 million bail at the time of his pleading.
Prosecutors allege Lewis had a sexual relationship with the student, who was between 13 and 18 years old, from March through May 2014. Lewis is also accused of taking pornographic photos of the student from May to October 2014.
Wilmington police said they received information from an anonymous tip during the summer of 2014 that sparked a six-month investigation into the former social studies teacher.
Police said the victim's parents and Wilmington school leaders were notified immediately of the investigation and the district took action to ensure Lewis would not have any contact with students. He resigned a short time later.
As part of his sentence, Lewis is prohibited from having any contact with the victim and anyone under the age of 18. He is also prohibited from accessing the Internet while on probation.