Feb. 19--A man is accused of sexually abusing an 8-year-old boy he was hired to tutor, prosecutors said Friday.
Brett J. Zagorac, 33, of the 9400 block of Verbena Drive in Munster, Ind., was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and ordered held on $100,000 bail.
The victim's mother hired Zagorac in August of 2014, on the recommendations of neighbors, when the boy was 7 and his brother was 10, according to Asst. State's Atty. Brian Whang.
They agreed on weekly 45-minute sessions in the dining room of the boy's home when other family members were in the house. But they were left alone in the room to prevent distractions, according to Whang.
The sessions continued through the end of the 2014-2015 school year and began again in the summer of 2015.
In October of 2015, the victim's mother learned Zagorac had been arrested for an alleged incident that happened while he was tutoring another student, Whang said.
When the mother asked her son if Zagorac had ever touched him, he told her that the tutor had reached under the boy's shirt and rubbed his lower back on several occasions. About one month later, he told his mother that Zagorac would also pull him onto his lap as the boy was completing homework, Whang said.
Zagorac has prior convictions for abusing minors, according to Whang. He has a 2005 conviction in DuPage County, a 2009 conviction in Indiana, and a 2010 conviction in Evanston, Whang said. He spent 20 days in jail on the DuPage case, 128 days in jail on the Indiana case and 120 days in jail on the Evanston case.
Zagorac's lawyer said his client graduated with a bachelor's degree from Purdue University and has earned two master's degrees. Zagorac with his parents.
Tribune reporter Steve Schmadeke contributed.
