Former Suburban Teacher, Coach Accused Of Disseminating Child Porn Remains Behind Bars

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A former suburban teacher and Grayslake high school basketball coach remains behind bars as he awaits trial for allegations he possessed and disseminated child pornography.

Todd Fowler, 47, of the 300 block of Buckingham Drive in Grayslake, faces possession and dissemination of child pornography charges in Lake County Circuit Court. An arraignment hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Lake County, according to online court records.

Authorities believe Fowler, a former physical education teacher at Woodland Elementary School in Gages Lake and girls basketball coach for District 127, may have also shared pictures of local children posted on social media with pedophiles, police said last month.

• Local Teacher May Have Shared Students' Photos With Pedophiles: Police

Fowler was arrested in May after a months-long investigation that began after local authorities received a cyber tip from the social media company, SnapChat, regarding one of its users. According to court documents provided to Patch, the user uploaded a video of child sex abuse material, including a 58-second video showing a girl under the age of 13 years old having sex with a man.

Police were able to learn the IP address was serviced by Comcast and, after subpoenaing records, learned Fowler was the subscriber, according to court records. On May 15, after obtaining a search warrant, police searched Fowler's home in Grayslake, and the Illinois Attorney General assisted with forensics.

Authorities seized a cell phone during the search. During the investigation, police showed Fowler a screenshot of the video that led to local authorities launching an investigation into him. At that time, Fowler denied possessing the video, according to court documents.

Authorities showed a screenshot of a video that was in his Snapchat account, and he told police it was a video "he disseminated in order to join a GroupChat in order to show that he was not a cop," according to court records.

Court records also show a conversation he had with another Snapchat user regarding the appearance of the girl depicted in the video.

Up until his arrest, Fowler taught physical education to first through third grade children, coached track and also coached high school basketball in Grayslake.

Fowler was hired in 2019 at Woodland Elementary School in Gages Lake as a physical education teacher after successfully completing a background check, Brooke Hagstrom, communications manager for Woodland District 50, told Patch. He also helped coach the track team during his tenure at Woodland.

Following his arrest, he was placed on administrative leave on May 15. As of mid-June, he is no longer employed by District 50, Hagstrom said.

Hagstrom said Fowler resigned after the district informed him they would be moving forward with the termination process.

Fowler also worked as a junior varsity basketball coach for Grayslake District 127 since November 2022.

"He passed all background checks upon hire. Upon learning of the charges, the district acted promptly and terminated Mr. Fowler from his coaching position," District 127 superintendent Mikkal Storaasli said.

Both District 50 and District 127 offered counseling and additional support to students and parents following news of Fowler's arrest.

"As a district, we provided social work services and our school counselors were made available to students and staff in the time following his arrest," Storaasli said.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.