COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Lincoln Park High School teacher had a three-month sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy he met online, prosecutors said Thursday.
The teen is not one of his students.
Benjamin Zollo, 32, met the boy through an online messaging app sometime between September and October of 2015, Assistant State's Attorney Karisa Flores said during a bond hearing Thursday.
Zollo, who initiated contact, did not use his real name and told the victim he was 26, according to prosecutors.
After communicating online for a month, Zollo asked the teen to meet in person, Flores said. The pair watched a movie at Zollo's home in the 1900 block of North Oakley Avenue, where Zollo initiated oral and anal sex.
For the next three months, Zollo and the victim had unprotected sex about every two weeks, prosecutors said.
The teen only learned Zollo's real name after finding a CPS pay stub in Zollo's home, according to Flores. The victim confronted Zollo about the pay stub, but Zollo told him to "stop looking him up," according to Flores. The two continued to see each other.
The victim's father confronted his son about his whereabouts New Year's Day after Zollo and the victim allegedly spent New Year's Eve together, Flores said. The teen later came forward and submitted specimens for a sexual assault kit at Holy Cross Hospital.
Zollo has been a teacher at Lincoln Park High School for the past year, his public defender said in court Thursday. His attorney said he has been a high-school teacher for eight years and at LPHS for one year.
Zollo is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Cook County Judge James Brown on Thursday ordered him held in lieu of $750,000 bail.
After the charges were announced, Chicago Public Schools said Zollo was no longer teaching at Lincoln Park High School. He has been "suspended pending further review, CPS said.
While the school seeks a permanent replacement, a substitute teacher will cover Zollo's classes, CPS said.
The school notified parents of the situation in a letter, according to CPS.
"Chicago Public Schools take allegations of criminal activity by its employees very seriously. Due to the ongoing law enforcement investigation, we cannot comment further at this time," a CPS news release stated.
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