Charges Filed Against 50-Year-Old Reed-Custer Teacher For Alleged Sexual Conduct Involving 14-Year-Old Male

A teacher in Will County has been charged with six counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse, as well as one count of Indecent Solicitation of a Child and one county of Unlawful Grooming in connection with an alleged sexual relationship with a 14-year-old male. 50-year-old Dayna Chidester of Manhattan, was a teacher at Reed-Custer High School in Braidwood at the time the alleged conduct occurred. The victim is not a Reed-Custer student. The victim stated that the relationship with Chidester included messages and photos sent electronically, as well as sexual physical contact on numerous occasions. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office the defendant confirmed that text messages and photos were sent electronically and that sexual physical contact had occurred with the victim. If convicted, Chidester faces up to 7 years for each count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse, up to 5 years for the count of Indecent Solicitation, and up to 3 years for the Unlawful Grooming count. Bond has been set at $1 million.