Chicago-area kindergarten teacher charged in sexual assault

BURBANK, Ill. (AP) - Cook County prosecutors say a suburban Chicago kindergarten teacher supplied alcohol to a 15-year-old student and had sex with him while he was underage.

Jordan Baptist School teacher Shannon Griffin also allegedly sent nude images to that student and a 16-year-old boy and asked for illicit images in return.

The details emerged during a bond hearing Wednesday, during which Judge John Mahoney ordered the 49-year-old Griffin of Oak Lawn held in lieu of $750,000 bond.

Griffin is charged with sexual assault, solicitation of child pornography, distribution of harmful materials and grooming in two separate cases. The alleged conduct began in late 2013 and continued through last year.

Defense attorney Lori Levin says Griffin, who is married to the pastor who runs the Burbank school and has three adult daughters, "vigorously maintains her innocence."