York High Harassment Yields Arrest: Cops

Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated that Elmhurst School District 205 issued its public statement about the former employee after Patch's story. In fact, it was issued a half hour before. The district did not include Patch on its email list.

ELMHURST, IL – A now-former York High School employee is accused of sending sexually explicit messages to another employee, commenting on what she wore to work at York High School in Elmhurst, authorities said.

The 28-year-old Cicero man faces six misdemeanor counts of electronic harassment.

Last month, he pleaded not guilty in DuPage County Court, although a police report indicates he admitted to the messages during questioning.

This week, Patch obtained the police report through a public records request. Much of it was blacked out.

The messages were from December to February.

The man commented on the woman's dresses, referring to them as "work outfits," and later sent photos of his genitalia, the report said.

The woman told police that she felt unsafe because the man correctly described the color of the dresses she wore on particular days.

Elmhurst School District 205 released a statement about the situation.

On Sept. 24, Elmhurst police notified District 205 about the harassment. The district said it immediately placed the employee on leave and banned him from all district property. The man is no longer employed by the district. The district said it confirmed no students were involved in the matter.

"The employee was recently arraigned in court on the charges, therefore, we are now able to share information about the circumstances," the district said in the statement.

The arraignment was Nov. 18.

"Due to the thorough and persistent work of our school resource officer and the Elmhurst Police Department, they were able to discover that the text messages were sent by an employee who was immediately removed from the building," the statement said.

The district said the police investigation required analysis of court-ordered telephone records over several months.

"We understand the concern and anxiety that this situation may cause, and we want to assure you that every precaution continues to be taken to maintain a safe and supportive environment for our students and staff," the district said.

In an interview, the man told officers that he owned the phone number in question for a long time and that no one else had access to it, police said. He also said he sent the messages and the nude photos, according to the report.

Additionally, he related to police how he tried to prevent others from pinpointing him as the sender. Such methods included burner email addresses and phone numbers to text his victims, police said.

He said he retrieved victims' numbers from "whiteboards," police said.

During the interview, the man admitted to making a mistake and blamed it on personal family issues.

The man was released and given a business card for the police department's social worker.