A former Neuqua Valley High School teacher accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old female student will likely not serve any prison time after entering a plea agreement on Monday, April 6.
William Schaub, 56, of La Grange, was indicted by a grand jury last year on two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of grooming. He pleaded not guilty last year to the charges, but on Monday pleaded guilty to the grooming charge, Will County Circuit Court records show.
“He reflected heavily on his constitutional right to trial but after careful consideration by him and his legal team and much negotiation with the State’s Attorney’s Office, Mr. Schaub agreed to plead guilty to the lesser of the three charged offenses,” said Robert Edelstein, an attorney for Schaub.
With Schaub pleading guilty to the grooming charge, which is a Class 4 felony, prosecutors dismissed the other two charges against him.
Schaub was released Monday with time considered served, Edelstein said. Specifically, Schaub was sentenced to two years in prison at 50%, which amounted to one year total. However, he was “given credit for 369 days of custody for wearing the electronic monitor on his ankle while the case was pending, so in essence he has already served over one year and he will not serve any prison time.”
Schaub will be required to register on the sex offender registry for a period of 10 years, Edelstein said. Court records also show that he was ordered to pay $3,594 in fines and other costs.
Schaub was arrested on April 3 of last year following an investigation by Naperville police and the Will County Child Advocacy Center. The probe was triggered by an anonymous tip given to school officials on March 7. Following his arrest, Schaub was granted pretrial release, fitted with electronic monitoring and ordered to not have any contact with minors, per previous reporting.
The indictment alleged that Schaub had sexual relations with the victim in December 2024 while being in “a position of trust, authority or supervision” and was at least five years older than the victim. It also alleged that from Nov. 1, 2024, through March 3, 2025, Schaub attempted to “solicit, seduce, lure or entice” the girl.
More light was shed on the situation through a civil no-contact court order in which Schaub, described as a “teacher and drama coach,” was directed to stay away from the student. It was issued three weeks prior to his arrest.
According to court documents, Schaub exchanged text messages with the victim in which he described wanting to be intimate with her and made references to other physical encounters between them. He also allegedly sent shirtless photos of himself to the victim.
“I’m having an incredibly hard time concentrating on these stupid essays,” Schaub wrote in one text to the student. “I’d rather be concentrating on kissing you some more. That was seriously wonderful…”
The victim allegedly tried to put distance between her and Schaub, but Schaub continued to message her, allegedly detailing plans in one message to invite the victim over to his home for a weekend and expressing in a separate message that he would like to be more than friends with her.
A Will County judge last year granted a two-year civil order in which Schaub was directed to have no contact with the student. The action was an extension of an emergency order granted in March of last year. As part of the directive, Schaub is prohibited from being within 100 feet of Neuqua Valley, located at 2360 95th St., Naperville. The order is effective through April 23, 2027.
cstein@chicagotribune.com
