$1M bail for ex-teacher in Will County charged with sexually abusing teenage boy

A Will County woman was charged with fostering a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy while she was a teacher at a southwest suburban high school.

Dayna Chidester, a 50-year-old Manhattan woman, taught at Reed-Custer High School in Braidwood during the alleged sexual abuse, according to a statement from the Will County state’s attorney’s office. The victim was not a student at the school.

Chidester was arrested Thursday and her bail was set at $1 million, the state’s attorney’s office said. She faces six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a count of indecent child solicitation and a count of unlawful grooming.

A police investigation found she sent the 14-year-old messages and photos and engaged in sex acts numerous times, the state’s attorney’s office said. She allegedly admitted to officers that this was true.

As a condition of her bail, Chidester won’t be allowed to contact minors outside of immediate family, enter school grounds or use the internet, the state’s attorney’s office said.