Ex-Catholic school teacher completes probation in Joliet indecent child solicitation case

A former teacher for the Diocese of Joliet has completed his two-and-a-half-year probation in a case where he pleaded guilty to grooming someone he thought was a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct.

On July 24, Jeremy Hylka, 48, of Joliet appeared at the Will County Courthouse, and the completion of his probation was deemed “satisfied,” according to court records.

But Hylka will remain on the Illinois sex offender registry for at least another seven-and-a-half years.

On Jan. 27, 2023, Hylka pleaded guilty to indecent solicitation of a child and grooming.

Hylka had been sentenced to serve 50% of a two-month sentence in jail. Yet he was able to avoid serving that time by completing six months of home confinement and electronic monitoring.

The charges against Hylka were filed after a vigilante sting operation by a group called Save Our Siblings and an investigation by the Joliet Police Department.

Hylka was a well-known figure in Joliet, and he founded the Joliet Weather Center, which now has more than 35,000 Facebook followers. He also taught theology at Joliet Catholic Academy and taught at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Lockport.

A 2021 YouTube video from Save Our Siblings showed Hylka was trying to rendezvous with someone he thought was a 15-year-old boy at a McDonald’s restaurant in Joliet.

The 15-year-old boy actually was the persona of Shane Divis, a member of the group, who was 19 at the time.

In the aftermath of Hylka’s charges, he was fired from St. Joseph Catholic School.

Lynne Scheffler, the school’s principal, was placed on administrative leave on May 7, 2021, while diocese officials examined the circumstances behind Hylka’s employment at the school.

On June 24, 2021, a former diocese spokeswoman said Sheffler would not return as principal. She declined to disclose the results of the investigation, saying, “Because the investigation focused on personnel, it is confidential.”