Joliet Sex Offender Jeremy Hylka Learns His Sentence

JOLIET, IL — Jeremy Hylka, whose career as a teacher for the Catholic Diocese of Joliet came to a sudden end after Hylka was captured on video by the Save Our Siblings group running away from the McDonald's where he went to meet with a juvenile boy for a sexual encounter, now must register as an Illinois sex offender as part of Friday's plea bargain with prosecutors.

On Friday, the now 46-year-old Hylka, who is represented by Plainfield criminal defense lawyer John Paul Ivec, entered a plea agreement with the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow. As part of the sentence, Hylka will be on intensive sex offender probation.

According to Will County prosecutors, Hylka was sentenced to two-and-a-half years of probation after he pleaded guilty to indecent solicitation of a child and grooming.

Joliet Patch has left a message with Hylka's lawyer seeking comment about Friday's resolution of his client's two-year-old criminal case.

During a May 2021 press conference, Joliet police explained that a video that has circulated on social media that showed Hylka attempting to meet up with someone Hylka believed to be 15 years old for the purposes of sexual activities.

"Our cooperating witness posed as a 15-year-old, but is actually 19 years old," now-retired Joliet Police Detective Shawn Filipiak told reporters at the news conference.

Because Hylka believed the teenager he was meeting up with was 15, "the statutory requirement is met" for criminal prosecution, Filipiak explained.

Joliet police said the group involved in filming Hylka is known as Save Our Siblings.

"It's an independent group. They do not have law enforcement authority," now-retired Joliet Police Lt. Joe Egizio said at the press conference.

Meanwhile, Will County Judge Ken Zelazo has continued Hylka's criminal case until July 24, 2025, for a hearing on the termination of Hylka's probation.

Hylka went to the McDonald's in the 1500 block of Jefferson Street expecting to meet up with a 15-year-old boy for oral sex inside Hylka's vehicle, according to the Save Our Siblings group.

In the video, the Save Our Siblings cameraman repeatedly yells, "Hey, we've got a pedophile! We've got a pedophile on the run! Pedophile on the run! Are we gonna get you, pedophile?"

At the time of his felony charges, Hylka lived in New Lenox. Since then, his wife filed for divorce against him. Now he lives with relatives in the 2200 block of Joliet's West Acres Road.

Hylka taught for many years at Joliet Catholic Academy until he resigned from JCA in the summer of 2020 and got hired by Principal Lynne Scheffler at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Lockport. The Diocese of Joliet fired him after the video of him running away from the McDonald's restaurant was posted on social media.