Carterville assistant football coach arrested on criminal sexual abuse
charges
[May 09, 2026]
By Jackson Brandhorst, Molly Parker
MARION — John “Jake” Wakey, the Carterville High School assistant
football coach and teacher at the center of an ongoing criminal sexual
abuse investigation, was arrested Thursday, May 7, in Pontiac, Illinois.
Wakey is charged with nine Class 2 felony counts of aggravated criminal
sexual abuse involving victims aged 13-17 by a person in a position of
trust during the 2013, 2014 and 2015 school years.
At a news conference on Friday, May 8, Williamson County Sheriff Jeff
Diederich said that four former students had now made statements on the
record to Williamson County detectives, and that investigators have
developed “solid and credible information” identifying a total of eight
potential victims connected to the Wakey investigation.
“Of those eight identifiable victims, four individuals have presently
memorialized the facts of their experiences on the record with
investigators, which ultimately formed the basis for the charges
announced today,” Diederich said.
Investigators allege that the offenses occurred from 2013 to 2015 and
involved members of the Carterville football team. Diederich said that
at this moment, the sheriff’s office has no evidence about abuses
occurring before or after those years but encourages anyone who has
experienced abuse within or outside of that timeframe to contact his
office.
The arrest comes less than three months after the Willamson County
Sheriff’s Office announced it had opened a criminal sexual abuse
investigation into an unnamed Carterville school district employee, and
over 18 months since the FBI first received the original tip.
The investigation and subsequent arrest stem from a November 2024 FBI
tip about alleged sexual abuse involving former students and a
Carterville High School employee.
The FBI determined that it did not have jurisdiction to investigate the
accusations at the time of the tip, and referred the information to
local law enforcement.
The Carterville Police Department requested on Dec. 31, 2024, that the
Williamson County Sheriff’s Office assume responsibility for the
investigation. The case was assigned to the sheriff’s office
investigations unit and is being led by Detective Michael Flanigan — who
had previously been the detective at the Carterville Police Department,
and was then transferred along with the case to the sheriff’s office the
following day.
Williamson County investigators said that they were able to memorialize
facts from one victim — an adult who was a minor student at the time of
the incidents — on Feb. 20, 2026.
The district then placed Wakey on paid administrative leave that same
day after receiving notification from the sheriff’s office that they had
begun an investigation into the coach and teacher.
Capitol News Illinois and Saluki Reporting Lab students from the Daily
Egyptian later identified Wakey as the subject of the investigation
after obtaining subpoenas served to the district.
Diederich previously said that the case remained largely dormant for 15
months because investigators lacked enough evidence and on-the-record
statements to move forward.
Diederich said Friday that cases involving criminal sexual abuse often
depend on victims being willing to formally recount their experiences to
investigators.
“In cases involving criminal sexual abuse, it frequently requires a
victim-survivor to come forward, disclose what occurred and allow
investigators to memorialize those facts for prosecution,” Diederich
said. “For many victims, that process can take months or even years, as
appears to have occurred in this investigation.”
In the subpoenas, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and the
Illinois State Board of Education sought records from Carterville Unit
No. 5 School District related to Wakey’s employment. The sheriff’s
office sought his personnel and disciplinary records, while a second
subpoena requested academic records for 17 former students whose names
were redacted by the district. The Illinois State Board of Education
also issued a subpoena as part of what it described as a licensure
investigation.
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The sun sets on the press box of the Lions Field football stadium at
Carterville High School. (Photo by Lylee Gibbs)
Wakey has worked for the Carterville district since 2003 as a teacher
and assistant football coach. Records previously obtained by CNI and the
DE show that Wakey was suspended for 10 days without pay in 2009 after
the district accused him of inappropriately texting students, allowing
students to spend time at his home late at night without other adults
present and drinking in front of students before driving to catch a bus
to a football game.
He was not charged with any crimes at the time.
Additional records obtained by CNI and the DE also show that Wakey began
working for the district days after completing court supervision for a
misdemeanor conviction for providing liquor to minors in Coles County
earlier in 2003.
“The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is aware of longstanding
community concerns, suspicions, rumors and allegations involving
inappropriate conduct, including allegations related to alcohol,
student-teacher contact and the sharing of images involving students
and/or faculty members,” Diederich said.
Handling of case draws scrutiny
The case has drawn scrutiny from parents and community members over how
long it took to begin an investigation, how the district handled earlier
warnings and how communication has been shared since.
Like the sheriff’s office, Carterville school officials have said they
did not have enough information involving multiple anonymous tips in the
past to conduct an internal investigation or to make a report to child
welfare officials, but took immediate action after law enforcement
notified the district in February that a former student had provided a
formal statement.
Williamson County States Attorney Ted Hampson said during the news
conference that cases like this come with facts that are sometimes “a
little bit daunting.”
“We were able to proceed with evidence yesterday before the grand jury,
which returned these nine indictments,” Hampson said. “As a result of
the arrest, we anticipate that there’ll be a detention hearing for this
defendant on Monday, in which the state will be seeking to detain him at
that time. Beyond that, since this case has now been filed, the state’s
attorney’s office cannot discuss the facts of this case and procedural
aspects. We do, however, intend to seek justice for these victims and we
will pursue it to the fullest extent of the law.”
Since the investigation became public, Carterville school officials have
said they are reviewing employee conduct policies, strengthening
training on appropriate communication with students and prohibiting the
use of personal technology for school-related communications.
The sheriff’s office also said investigative efforts connected to the
Carterville case led detectives to uncover separate allegations
involving Christopher C. Ballard, a faculty member assigned to the
Williamson County Special Education District and associated with Herrin
Elementary School.
Ballard was arrested April 21 and charged with two counts of aggravated
criminal sexual assault, Class X felonies, and two counts of aggravated
criminal sexual abuse, Class 2 felonies, according to the sheriff’s
office.
Wakey is being transferred from the Livingston County Jail in Pontiac to
the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in Marion.
The Carterville Board of Education will hold is holding a special
meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, to take action on the “discipline
and/or dismissal of a licensed employee of the District,” according to
the meeting agenda.
The Saluki Local Reporting Lab is a special project
of the SIU Carbondale School of Journalism and Advertising and is
designed to give students from diverse backgrounds practical
reporting experience while providing news coverage to underserved
communities.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
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McCormick Foundation. |
