NEED TO KNOW
-
An Illinois middle school teacher has been charged with three felony counts stemming from allegations she sexually assaulted a former student who is underage
-
DuPage County authorities said neighbors began calling police after noticing the underage boy making several visits to the home of 34-year-old teacher Jessica Bergmann
-
Authorities allege Bergmann was a teacher at the boy’s former middle school and that the alleged sexual assault took place when he was a high school sophomore
An Illinois middle school teacher has been charged with three felonies after she was accused in court last week of sexually assaulting an underaged former student.
Jessica Bergmann, a 34-year-old teacher at Washington Middle School in Aurora, Ill., was charged with felony criminal sexual assault, and two felony counts for aggravated criminal sexual abuse, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a statement on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Authorities said in their statement that investigators began receiving information in October about the teacher’s potentially inappropriate sexual relationship with the child. DuPage County authorities alleged that Bergmann met the boy when he was a student at Washington Middle School.
Sometime after the student graduated, the middle school teacher and her former student “began communicating via text messages and phone calls,” the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office alleged in its statement. Saturday. The alleged victim was a high school sophomore when the alleged sexual assault began, according to authorities.
“It is alleged that at some point in time, the relationship between the two turned sexual,” the statement said. “It is further alleged that the relationship progressed further and that the victim would frequently go to Bergmann’s home, occasionally staying overnight, where the two would engage in sexual intercourse.”
Citing court documents, The Daily Herald reported that neighbors became concerned after noticing the boy at Bergmann’s home and began contacting police.
Wheaton Police Department
Jessica Bergmann
DuPage authorities said Bergmann was “taken into custody without incident” on Friday. She was released from custody after her initial court appearance and was ordered to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18 years old, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Bergmann is due back in court on Dec. 1.
“The profound abuse of trust and authority allegedly displayed by Ms. Bergmann is extremely disturbing and will be met with the full force of the law,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the statement. “Teachers are entrusted with our students’ wellbeing. They are given the awesome responsibility to guide and protect our students, not to harm or exploit them. A teacher who takes advantage of a student, as alleged in this case, is not only breaking the law, but they are also breaking the trust placed in them by the community, the school and the victim’s family.”
Wheaton Chief of Police P.J. Youker said in the statement that “cases involving alleged abuse by a teacher strike at the core of community trust,” adding, “this behavior is unacceptable.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
Read the original article on People
