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More details on Bensenville man charged in Niles North sex case

New details are emerging about the arrest of a former Niles North High School cheerleading coach accused of getting naked during a team party at his Bensenville home.

Jeffrey Tackes, 30, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child after he exposed himself to two cheerleaders, ages 16 and 17, and coerced them into playing strip poker, prosecutors said in a recent court filing.

Charges filed in February stemmed from a team party at his home on the 400 block of South Addison Street in December 2010. Prosecutors said the teens arrived late and were the last two students there.

Tackes gave them a tour and suggested they “all take a shower together” while showing the bathroom, then got naked and suggested they play strip poker, prosecutors said their filing.

Afterward, he sent the cheerleaders several text messages that were “inappropriate and sexual in nature,” prosecutors said.

Since the coach’s arrest, authorities say three other girls have come forward with allegations.

One of them — identified in court records as a former Niles cheerleader — alleged that in 2009 Tackes sent her text messages she perceived as “flirting,” including one in which he invited her over to give him a full-body massage, according to court records. The other two — both students at York High School in Elmhurst — said Tackes touched their buttocks “more than was normal” while spotting them at a Bensenville gymnastics school in late 2010 and early 2011, according to court records.

He also suggested “they could remove their shirts if they were too hot and (said) that he didn’t mind if they had a sports bra or regular bra on,” prosecutors said in the court filing.

Tackes resigned as a math teacher at Niles North in Skokie following his arrest, officials said. His attorney, Robert Novelle, declined to comment Friday.

The charges were lodged more than a year after the alleged strip poker game. Police said one of the girls recently came forward about the party.

Niles North school officials have said they are cooperating in investigations by Bensenville and Skokie police and the Department of Children and Family Services.

Tackes, who is free on bond, is scheduled to appear in DuPage County court April 24. He’s been ordered to stay away from school property and to have no contact with the girls.

Niles North teacher from Bensenville faces sexual abuse charge

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