Ex-Catholic school teacher charged with child solicitation placed on electronic monitoring

A former teacher for the Diocese of Joliet charged with indecent solicitation of a child and grooming in 2021 has been placed on electronic monitoring while his case is ongoing.

Judge Ken Zelazo on Friday signed an order for Jeremy Hylka, 46, of Joliet to be placed on electronic monitoring after yet another private conference between Zelazo, Hylka’s attorney JohnPaul Ivec, and Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Debbie Mills.

Zelazo told Hylka that if he violates the conditions and terms of his order, anything discussed in the conference could be off the table.

Hylka’s next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Jan. 27.

Hylka faces charges of traveling to meet a child, two counts of indecent solicitation of a child, grooming and solicitation to meet a child. The charges have a sentencing range of probation of up to five years in prison.

Hylka was never booked into the Will County jail on the felony charges. Instead, he surrendered himself to the Joliet Police Department. He was released from custody after posting a cash bond. Before Hylka’s surrendered, he had been staying at a behavioral hospital in New Lenox.

According to Zelazo’s order, Hylka must undergo GPS monitoring and he must remain confined to his home and not leave unless it’s for work, court, medical appointments, church or supervised visitation with his children.

The private conferences, also known as 402 conferences, have been held three times since Sept. 8 in Hylka’s case.

A 402 conference is a meeting in the judge’s chambers between defense attorneys and prosecutors to discuss the facts of the case. The judge may make a recommended sentence at the end of the conference if the defendant pleads guilty. The conferences are governed by Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402.

Hylka was investigated by the Joliet Police Department because of an April 27, 2021, incident where he was accused of attempting to rendezvous at a McDonald’s in Joliet with someone he met online whom he thought was a 15-year-old boy.

That boy turned out to be Shane Divis, who was 19 at the time and a member of the a group called Save Our Siblings. The group posted videos on YouTube of people they claim were attempting to meet minors for sex.

The video of the incident shows two men sitting at a table when someone approaches the two and announces, “Hey, we’re a group that catches child predators online.” The man the group alleged was Hylka then fled, is followed and strips off his shirt.

In the aftermath of Hylka’s charges, he was fired from his teaching position at St. Joseph Catholic School in Lockport.

Lynne Scheffler, the school’s principal, was placed on administrative leave May 7, 2021, while diocese officials examined the circumstances behind Hylka’s employment at the school.

On June 24, 2021, diocese spokeswoman Mary Massingale said Sheffler would not return as principal. She declined to disclose the results of the investigation, saying, “Because the investigation focused on personnel, it is confidential.”