Teacher's Aide Faces New Indecent Solicitation Charge

OAK LAWN, IL — More charges have been added against a teacher’s aide at an Oak Lawn special education school, who is already accused of inappropriate conduct with a female student. Joshua Alexander, 29, of Robbins, was charged in January with criminal sexual abuse, aggravated criminal sexual assault and grooming after Oak Lawn police said he exchanged inappropriate social media messages with the girl.

An ongoing investigation has identified a second student at PRIDE Alternative School in Oak Lawn with whom Alexander is believed to have had contact. Alexander was charged on May 4 with indecent solicitation of a child. The cases he’s been charged with were said to have occurred between October and November 2019.

“Our detectives have worked tirelessly on these cases and have identified other victims, in addition to the victims that have resulted in additional charges,” Div. Chief Gerald Vetter said.

The PRIDE school at 4201 W 93rd St., Oak Lawn, is part of the A.E.R.O. Special Education Cooperative, serving students with special needs. The special education cooperative accepts students from eight public elementary and high school districts in Oak Lawn, Burbank, Evergreen Park, Justice, Summit, Willow Springs and Chicago's Southwest Side.

Alexander worked as a teacher’s aide in PRIDE’s art department for approximately five years. He was placed on administrative leave last December when police launched their investigation, which included serving search warrants on Alexander’s and the student’s social media accounts. The initial charges against Alexander left his colleagues reeling in shock, said James Gunnell, executive director of the AERO Special Education Cooperative.

“Josh was well liked by staff and students,” Gunnell said.

It wasn’t the first time such allegations were lobbed at Alexander. A year before his arrest, Vetter said school officials received an anonymous letter implicating Alexander of inappropriate conduct.

“The incident was investigated and there was not enough information to move forward,” the division chief added.

Police have since identified other PRIDE students who they said provided information of past abuse. One student was 16 at the time and is now adult. Vetter said the woman did not wish to cooperate with the investigation.

Alexander was being held on $500,000 bail at Cook County Jail. He was placed on electronic monitoring in March, following emergency bond hearings to reduce bail for non-violent offenders in an attempt to reduce the population behind the jail walls to slow the spread of coronavirus. Alexander’s next court date is June 2 in Bridgeview.

Gunnell said that AERO board members met in closed session in January to discuss the allegations against Alexander, who was afforded the opportunity to due process. Alexander didn’t attend the proceeding because he was in jail. His professional educator’s license has since been suspended by the state, and he is no longer considered to be an employee of the school.

PRIDE moved to eLearning in March, when Gov. J.B. Pritzker closed the state’s schools when coronavirus surfaced in Illinois. The school is delivering services to students through teletherapy. Gunnell said counseling would be made available to staff and students if needed, with the added charges against the former art department aide.

The investigation remains active, and Oak Lawn police ask anyone with information to contact the detective division at 708-907-4051.