Feb. 12--A Chicago Public Schools security guard was ordered held on $300,000 bail Thursday after prosecutors said he had sex repeatedly with a girl who was a student at the Northwest Side school where he worked.
Ivan Cotto, 29, of the 8300 block of West Irving Park Road, is charged with criminal sexual assault after being accused of having sex with the 13-year-old girl for almost a year, prosecutors said. Cotto was a guard at Brentano Math and Science Academy, where the girl was enrolled, according to an arrest report.
Cotto was suspended last week from his job, and "CPS is fully cooperating with law enforcement, and we have provided resources to the school to help students and staff during this challenging time," Chicago Public Schools said in a statement released by spokesman Michael Passman.
Cotto approached the girl at school in May 2015 and took her to the school's auditorium balcony, according to Assistant State's Attorney Brian Whang. Cotto asked the girl to have sex, and she said no. But he eventually persuaded her to have unprotected sex, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said he left his DNA in a shirt that he left behind a piece of furniture on the balcony.
About two months later, Cotto again took her to the same location, where he again pressured her to perform a sex act on him until she agreed, then had sex with her again, prosecutors said. Cotto left his DNA in an undershirt he was wearing, then hid it behind a piece of furniture, prosecutors said.
Cotto continued to have sex with the victim at his home between July 2015 and January 2016, according to prosecutors.
The girl and Cotto communicated via text messaging and social media, and Cotto both sent nude photos of himself to the girl and requested them from her.
In May 2015, the victim told her younger sister that she had sex with Cotto and shared explicit details about their sexual encounters. The younger sister also saw Cotto give the victim an open-mouth kiss, prosecutors said.
In January, the girl's parents found text messages between the girl and Cotto. In one message, Cotto said he wanted to give the victim a better kiss, but her younger sister "spooked" him, prosecutors said.
When the parents confronted Cotto, he denied having sex with the girl, but the victim told her parents they in fact did, prosecutors said.
Investigators later discovered text messages that Cotto exchanged with the girl as far back as October 2015, including messages in which the two said they loved each other.
Cotto was arrested at his apartment Tuesday, authorities said.
After Cotto's suspenion, CPS sent letters to all parents at Brentano, telling them of the allegations, and followed up with a second letter after his arrest, according to CPS. Cotto will remain suspended pending the outcome of the case, according to CPS, which did not specify whether he would receive any of his $35,000 yearly salary while suspended.
Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan set bail at $300,000, and banned him from contact with any minors including his own children, who had been in his custody.
