Former Chicago-area middle school teacher sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography

CHICAGO — A former Chicago-area middle school teacher was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography and encouraging underage boys to produce sexually explicit images of themselves.

This sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James M. Gibbons, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago.

John C. Vastis, 54, of Lakemoor, Illinois, began communicating online with one of his victims in 2013. From the outset, the chats were sexually charged. For nearly a year Vastis encouraged the victim to record sexually explicit photos and videos of himself and transmit the images over the internet to Vastis. Several of the images depicted the victim’s genitals. Vastis also admitted in a plea agreement that he watched child pornography involving another victim and possessed images of a prepubescent boy performing a sex act on an adult male.

Vastis pleaded guilty last year to one count of accessing child pornography with the intent to view. U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. imposed the 13-year prison sentence Jan. 10 in federal court in Chicago.

Vastis was arrested in August 2014. He previously worked as a teacher at Meridian Middle School in Aptakisic-Tripp District 102 in Buffalo Grove. The school district cooperated with this investigation, and there were no allegations that Vastis  sexually exploited his students.

The Lakemoor Police Department, Lake County (Illinois) State’s Attorney’s Office and the Buffalo Grove (Illinois) Police Department assisted with this investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker, Northern District of Illinois, prosecuted this case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.