Former northwest suburban teacher to be extradited to face sex charges

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The U.S. Embassy in Bosnia says a former Chicago-area school teacher is being extradited to the United States to face prosecution in Illinois on sexual assault charges.

An arrest warrant issued in August charged Michael R. Vucic with five counts of predatory sexual assault and five counts of sexual assault, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s office. The crimes are alleged to have occurred while Vucic was teaching at Gavin South Middle School in Ingleside. The embassy says he fled the U.S. in August, was found hiding in Bosnia, and arrested in September.

Vucic, 41, was charged after a girl under the age of 13 told her grandparents that Vucic had inappropriate sexual contact with her multiple times in 2012, police said. Vucic’s last known local address was in the 100 block of East Laurel Avenue in Lake Forest.

Vucic was being escorted by the U.S. Marshal Service back to the United States Wednesday, the embassy said in a statement.

Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire