Frankfort Teacher Charged With Grooming, Solicitation Of A Child

FRANKFORT, IL — A teacher at Summit Hill Junior High School in Frankfort has been charged with two counts of indecent solicitation of a child and one count of grooming, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a release. Jack Mecher, 51, of Frankfort, was taken into custody Tuesday, and bond has been set at $250,000.

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, who is a teacher at Summit Hill Junior High School in Frankfort.

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.

According to the District 161 website, Mecher is now an eighth-grade math teacher at Summit Hill. His LinkedIn page shows that he started teaching at Summit Hill in 2013 and is also the director of umpires for Frankfort Baseball, and served as treasurer on the board of Frankfort Baseball.

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.

Mecher was taken into custody early Tuesday before reporting for work.

Detectives at the Will County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex questioned Mecher about the relationship, and he made numerous statements indicating that the statements made by the victim were a valid complaint, police said.

Mecher is due in court on Wednesday.

District 161 sent out an email to families on Tuesday, stating that they were made aware of allegations against a Summit Hill teacher.

"The allegations report inappropriate interactions with a former District 161 student after hours in our facility," the district said, adding that it is investigating the matter and is fully cooperating with the sheriff's office.

The district said it is unaware of any allegations that would involve a current student of the district.

Frankfort Baseball Inc. told Patch it has taken immediate action to remove Mecher from any and all operations/activities.

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