In detail-and eventually in tears-a former Grayslake High School student told a jury Monday how she was seduced into repeated sexual acts with Cheryl Paddock, who was her teacher and volleyball coach.
The woman, who is married and a mother, testified that for a time, she had sex with Paddock almost every time she visited the teacher in the 1970s at Paddock’s home in Antioch.
“They were too often to remember,” she said of the sexual acts, which occurred when she was a minor. “It was a lot (of times).”
The former student was the prosecution’s first witness in the trial of Paddock, 46, a physical education teacher and a girls athletic coach at the high school for 22 years. She is charged with sexually abusing and assaulting another former student between 1989 and 1991.
Paddock is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of her trial.
Assistant Lake County State’s Atty. Steve Scheller presented the woman in an attempt to show how Paddock interacted with students. He contends that Paddock, as a coach and counselor, took sexual advantage of students who came to her for help because of personal, academic or emotional problems.
“She began to use this relationship for her own purposes,” Scheller said of how Paddock treated her alleged victim. “She began to hug her. She began to kiss her.”
The state’s position was countered in opening statements by defense attorney Charles Rapin.
“We believe the evidence will show that they (Paddock and the alleged victim) had a relationship,” Rapin said. “They had a friendship. The evidence will show that Cheryl Paddock mothered (the former student) and showed her the kind of attention she didn’t have.”
Rapin said Paddock has lived nearly all her life in Grayslake and graduated from the local high school. She then graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1970, where, Rapin said, she was named the outstanding female athlete.
She then became a coach at Grayslake High School, which named Paddock to its athletic hall of fame, Rapin told the jurors.
But another side of Paddock was alleged by the woman. She said she met Paddock after she enrolled at the high school in the early 1970s. At the time, the woman said, she was having emotional problems because of some personal tragedies.
“I was very nervous. I was crying at lot at school,” the woman testified. “My friends realized it and were kind of avoiding me.”
And to the rescue, according to Scheller, came Paddock. The former student said Paddock enlisted her help to take videos of the girls gymnastics team.
As their friendship blossomed, the woman said, Paddock started giving her rides home.
“The first few times, she just drove me home,” the former student said. “After a while, she started driving around and talking to me about my problems. . . . Sometimes, she would stop by the side of the road.
“It was gradual. She would just want me to sit on her lap and she would hug me. Sometimes, she would just rock me. Eventually, she started placing her hands on my breasts.
“She just kind of explained to me the kinds of things we should be doing if we cared about each other.”
Eventually, the witness said with tears welling, she regularly visited Paddock’s home, where they engaged in oral sex.
The woman said she initially tried to conceal her visits, telling her mother that “I was going to her place to have a peaceful place to study and to help Cheryl correct papers.”
During cross-examination, the witness said she continued to see Paddock on a social basis through the years, but she has always tried to hide their sexual relationship.
“It was very embarrassing for me,” the woman said. “I didn’t want anyone to know about it. I thought that they would think that I was gay.”
The case has riveted the attention of the 830-student high school. In the student newspaper, Rampage, editorials have asked students to avoid a “lynch-mob mentality.”
“It’s a very touchy situation, as you might imagine,” athletic director Greg Roth said.
Some students said they are having a hard time reconciling the sexual-abuse charges with a person they perceive to be a well-liked teacher.
“It was a total shock when it came out,” said senior Jayme Niemchick, 17. “She never did anything that would make you think anything like that.”
“She was always nice, and never in a bad mood. I really want her to come back,” added Lisa Titus, 15.
Supt. Ray Novak said that trying to calm parents concerned about the case and its impact on the school while protecting the rights of an employee hasn’t been easy.
“Anytime you have an accusation of something, it detracts from the purpose of the organization, which is to educate kids,” he said. “It just saps the energy of the organization when something like this occurs.
“We live in a real world with real problems, and sometimes they hit you.”
