Additional Sexual Assault Charges Filed Against Frankfort Teacher

FRANKFORT, IL — A teacher at Summit Hill Junior High School in Frankfort was charged in September with two counts of indecent solicitation of a child and one count of grooming. On Wednesday, the Will County State's Attorney's Office approved additional charges against Jack Mecher, 51, of Frankfort.

The Will County Sheriff's Office said two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, two counts of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated battery were brought by a Will County grand jury and are in addition to the original charges filed against Mecher in September.

According to the sheriff's office, on Sept. 9, detectives met with a woman who reported her child was having an inappropriate sexting relationship with her former seventh-grade teacher. The woman told police that it was Mecher, a teacher at Summit Hill Junior High School in Frankfort, authorities said.

The woman told police that her child told her about the relationship the day before, according to the sheriff's office. The child said Mecher had been having an inappropriate relationship with her at Summit Hill Junior High School, in Mecher's classroom, according to police.

The sheriff's office said detectives began to investigate the allegations, and a forensic interviewer at the Will County Child Advocacy Center later interviewed the child.

Detectives at the Will County Sheriff's Office Public Safety Complex questioned Mecher about the relationship, and he made numerous statements indicating the complaint against him was valid, police said.

Mecher was taken into custody on Sept. 22 and his bond was set at $250,000. He posted the required 10 percent and was released from jail the same day.

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