A former Chicago Public Schools teacher who was also well known in the city’s theater community admitted Thursday to having a sexual relationship with an underage student and was sentenced to probation.
Joel Ewing, 42, was initially charged with sexual assault, but took a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a count of aggravated battery in a public place.prosecutors said in court that the victim, now a woman in her mid-20s, accepted the agreement and prosecutors’ recommendation that Ewing be sentenced to probation and lose his teaching certification.
Ewing spoke in a quiet voice during the hearing, barely audible in the courtroom’s gallery, but apologized to the woman after turning and searching for her with his eyes and said he hoped the court proceedings had brought her some closure. The judge warned Ewing that if he failed to comply with "a scintilla" of his probation requirements, "in all likelihood you’re going to jail."
The victim outcried to a friend and later a therapist, who filed a police report against Ewing, but honored the victim’s wish that it be anonymous and the incident wasn’t investigated, prosecutors said. Case workers typically "immediately contact" the school as part of their investigation, request personnel files, inquire about any other complaints against the accused individual and interview other students, a spokesman for the agency said at the time and acknowledged it was unlikely the agency followed those steps this case.
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