Former LFHS Teacher Charged for Having Sex with 15-Year-Old Boy: Police

Photo: Benjamin Zollo, 32 | Cook County Sheriff

A Lincoln Park High School teacher has been accused of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Benjamin Zollo, 32, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Police said he met the boy online sometime in fall 2015, ABC 7 Chicago is reporting.

Zollo has been a teacher for eight years, and is a first-year history teacher at Lincoln Park High School.

The boy is not a student at the school. They had allegedly been having sex every few weeks since meeting on the Internet.

Prosecutors said during a bond hearing on Thursday that Zollo invited the boy to spend New Year’s Eve with him at his home in the 1900 block of North Oakley. His parents became worried when they realized the boy had snuck out of the house and stayed out all night, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The boy confessed to his father on Jan. 1 that he’d allegedly been having sex with the teacher over the past several months. After his confession, his parents took him to Holy Cross Hospital located in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood to have him checked out.

The high school informed parents by email of the criminal investigation. Zollo is no longer teaching at the school.

Zollo’s attorney told the TV news station that the allegations were out of character for his client.

The Daily North Shore reported that Zollo is a former employee of Lake Forest High School. Dist. 115 Superintendent Michael Simeck sent an email to parents saying that based on information he had, the minor involved is NOT a current or former LFHS student.

Zollo taught, coached and subbed at LFHS from 2007 to 2012.

Zollo’s Facebook profile indicates that he is originally from Highland Park.

The Chicago Tribune reported that bail was set at $750,000. Cook County jail records indicated that Zollo is being held without bond.

The teacher is due back in court on Feb. 3 at the Leighton Criminal Court Building at 26th and California.

Editor’s Note: We have corrected a typo in this story for which we sincerely regret. The student involved is not believed to be a former or current student at Lake Forest High School.