Former High School Teacher Sentenced For Molesting Student, 16

CHICAGO (STMW) -- A former Catholic high school teacher was sentenced to two years probation Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a female student.

Wesley Cherniak, 33, is also required to register as a sex offender as part of his sentence, said Andy Conklin, a spokesman with the Cook County State's attorney's office.

Prosecutors said Cherniak molested the then 16-year-old girl two years ago at St. Benedict High School, 3900 N. Leavitt, where he had been teaching.

The student's parents reported him to the assistant principal on May 13, 2009, according to Archdiocese of Chicago spokeswoman Susan Burritt.

Cherniak, of the 3800 block of North Bernard, was subsequently suspended from the school following his arrest in 2010.

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