Former Metea Valley High School teacher facing felony sexual assault charges in case involving a student

AURORA - A former choir teacher at Metea Valley High School is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly having inappropriate sexual contact with a former student at the school at 1801 North Eola Road in Aurora.

In a statement, Aurora police said the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office has charged Nathan Bramstedt, 42, of the 600 block of Pimlico Street, Oswego, with nine counts of criminal sexual assault by a person in a position of trust/authority, a Class 1 felony; and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse by person in a position of trust/authority, a Class 2 felony.

If found guilty of all counts, sentencing guidelines dictate that imposed sentences on the Class 1 felonies must run consecutively, thus exposing the suspect to a minimum of 36 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to police.

Bramstedt appeared in court Saturday, April 9 where Judge Susan Alvarado set his bond at $500,000.

Police said that beginning in February 2019 through June 2019, Bramstedt allegedly sexually assaulted his victim, who was 17 years-old at the time, on multiple occasions at multiple locations within the school.

The alleged abuse came to light when the victim reported it to authorities last year, and Aurora police and the DuPage County Children’s Center opened an investigation into the matter.

“Teachers are role models who students look up to and in whom parents place a great amount of trust,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the statement. “It is alleged that Mr. Bramstedt used his position of trust and authority to seduce his victim into giving him what he wanted. If the allegations against Mr. Bramstedt are true, he violated that trust in the worst possible way. I thank officials at Metea Valley High School for their complete cooperation throughout this investigation and I commend the Aurora Police Department, notably, Det. Laura Kolanowski, for their outstanding work on this very disturbing case.”

Berlin continued, “I also thank the DuPage County Children’s Center, particularly Investigator Boris Vrbos and as well as Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Fisher for his work on this case and their ongoing efforts in protecting our children from sexual predators.”

The statement concludes: “Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”