A jury trial for a former DeKalb middle school student teacher accused of grooming and sexually abusing a student has been delayed again, court records show.

Quinyatta L. Hutchinson, 26, worked as a student teacher in April 2023 at Huntley Middle School when he was charged with having illegal sexual relations with a minor student.

His trial on felony charges of grooming and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse was expected to start this week, presided over by Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick, records show.

But Buick granted a request by Hutchinson’s defense lawyer, Geneva Penson, to continue the trial to a later date. Penson asked for a delay because, among other reasons listed, she needed more time to review the case material before trial, according to an April 9 court filing.

If convicted, Hutchinson could face up to seven years in prison.

At the time of his arrest, Hutchinson was a Northern Illinois University senior who lived in DeKalb, his former defense attorney and an NIU spokesperson previously confirmed. DeKalb County court records now list a Chicago address for him.

It’s not the first time Hutchinson’s trial has been delayed. Buick granted a delay at Penson’s request in November 2025. At the time, lead prosecutor Brooks Locke told the judge, “The state is anxious to get this to trial.”

Penson filed a motion to continue the trial on April 9, records show. In the motion, she said she needed more time to review investigative materials in the defense case, and her office had “a major problem” downloading files connected to the defense. She also said she was held up in other matters for other clients. She noted the motion to continue was made “through no fault of the defendant himself.”

Buick granted the trial continuance on April 22.

No new trial date has been set as of May 21. Hutchinson’s next status hearing is 9 a.m. June 17.

April 13 court filings show that Penson also asked Buick to order DeKalb School District 428 to produce school attendance records that Penson argues could be relevant to her defense case.

Under the Illinois School Student Records Act, schools aren’t required to produce certain student records with identifying information unless ordered by a judge.

“[T]he school records in the case at bar bear on the credibility of Mr. Hutchinson’s accusers,” Penson wrote in the filing. “The offenses are alleged to have occurred at the school, during the school day, between Mr. Hutchinson and a student at the school.”

Also on April 13, Penson filed a motion to suppress statements that Hutchinson allegedly made while in police custody at the time of his April 14, 2023, arrest. Penson argues in the filing that some of Hutchinson’s statements to DeKalb police “could tend to incriminate him.” She argues Hutchinson said things to police without fully understanding his right to counsel.

Hutchinson was charged on April 18, 2023. He spent about 250 days in DeKalb County Jail, where his bond, which was initially set at half a million dollars, was reduced twice, records show. He was released on Jan. 4, 2024, after posting $20,000 cash bail on a $200,000 bond, records show.

On the afternoon of April 14, 2023, a Huntley Middle School employee allegedly walked in on Hutchinson and the student and found them alone in a classroom behind a cabinet, according to court records. The behavior was reported to DeKalb police, and Hutchinson was immediately removed, District 428 officials have said.

During a police interview later that day, the student told officers that Hutchinson allegedly sexually abused them during the lunch period that Thursday. The student also alleged that Hutchinson had exchanged electronic communications with them for months, saying the two communicated often with messages of a sexual nature, according to court records.