Former HPHS Sub Released on Bond After Child Pornography Charges

The Highland Park High School substitute teacher who was arrested for what police called “disparaging rants” and charged with possession of child pornography after being let go from the job this spring has been released on bond under conditions that include a 24-hour curfew, the Highland Park News reports.

Steven Habay, 40, of Highland Park, was arrested this spring for posting the rants online and charged with cyber stalking and harassment by electronic device. In the course of the police investigation, officers seized Habay’s computer for evidence. A forensic examiner with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office was gathering evidence from the computer recently and discovered images of child pornography, police said Monday. The images appear to be from Internet searches and not ones that Habay made himself, police said.

He was released Tuesday from Lake County Jail on 10 percent of a $200,000 bond, according to the Highland Park News. As part of his release, he will have no access to computers at his parents’ Highland Park home, where he will be staying under curfew. Read the full story at the Highland Park News.