Former Special Needs Teacher Sexually Assaulted Student: Plea

GRAYSLAKE, IL — A 50-year-old Lake County special education teacher's aide pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual assault Thursday, according to prosecutors.

Israel Suaste-Gonzalez, a former aide at the Atkinson Center in Grayslake, is facing up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a student at one of the special education centers he worked at from 2016 to 2018.

Police said Suaste-Gonzalez was arrested in 2019 after a lawsuit launched by a 20-year-old student's family revealed the young woman told a family member she was a victim of sexual abuse while enrolled in a transition program through the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL). The program serves students ages 18-22 after they graduate from their high school special needs classrooms.

According to the lawsuit, Suaste-Gonzalez forced the woman to perform nonconsensual sex acts during the two-year period, sometimes taking place in the conference room attached to the classroom. The suit alleges the former teacher's aide would threaten the woman if she told anyone what happened.

Court records state Suaste-Gonzalez was an SEDOL employee since 2002. The woman's attorneys also said the teacher Suaste-Gonzalez aided in the classroom ignored district policies which could have protected the young woman from him.

The plea deal states Suaste-Gonzalez could serve a minimum of four years in prison for each count and up to a maximum of 15 per term. Terms must be served consecutively, prosecutors said. The man has been in Lake County jail after being unable to pay a $2 million bail. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14.

"As soon as we were informed of the allegations, we removed Mr. Suaste-Gonzalez from his position," SEDOL Superintendent Valerie Donnan told Patch in an email. "We subsequently dismissed him from his employment. At all times, SEDOL cooperated fully with the police and the State's Attorney's office in their investigations of this matter."