It has been confirmed that a DeKalb man charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse is teacher at DeKalb High School.

Robert Hursh, 56, of DeKalb, was arrested without incident during a traffic stop Monday and charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

The alleged abuse occurred over a four-year period starting in 1998, and the victim was under the age of 17 when the abuse was reported to occur, according to a DeKalb Police Department press release.

“It’s common in abuse cases involving minors that the abuse sometimes does not get reported for months and sometimes years later for various reasons,” said Lt. Gary Spangler of the DeKalb Police Department.

The victim was not a student of Hursh’s, Spangler said, but Hursh did not come across the victim randomly or by chance. Spangler said Hursh did not have a history of anything of this nature and if a suspect is convicted of this type of crime they would have to register as a sex offender.

Hursh was taken to DeKalb County Jail and later posted $50,000 bond, he said.
DeKalb High School Principal Lindsey Hall confirmed he was an employee, and that Hursh’s classes were continuing under a qualified substitute. Hall could not comment on the specifics of Hursh’s employment.

Hursh is a social studies teacher, according to the DeKalb High School Web site.
Paul Beilfuss, DeKalb School District 428 Superintendent, could not comment on the future of Hursh’s employment, and said there is no standard action if a teacher gets convicted of a crime.

“We’ll take the appropriate disciplinary action if it comes to that,” he said.
Kathy Watkins, director of the Kishwaukee Education Consortium, said Hursh teaches night classes in the optional education program, but declined to comment on specific classes.

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