Diocese: Jeremy Hylka 'Was Vetted Like Any Other Candidate'

JOLIET, IL — While 44-year-old Jeremy Hylka remains at the Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital in New Lenox awaiting felony charges brought forward by the Joliet Police Department of grooming and traveling to meet a child, the Diocese of Joliet has issued another news release regarding the fired teacher.

On Monday night, administrators from St. Joseph Catholic School and leaders of the Diocese of Joliet held a meeting in Lockport open to parents who have children attending the school where Hylka had been employed until late last week. The principal of St. Joseph School is Lynne Scheffler, and the priest in charge of the parish is Father Gregory Rothfuchs.

This marked Hylka's first and only school year employed at St. Joseph Catholic School in Lockport. Hylka previously taught for many at Joliet Catholic Academy. He resigned from JCA last summer.

"The principal and pastor addressed questions about Jeremy Hylka’s hiring for a position teaching religion and science for the current academic year, after he had just resigned from his previous employer, Joliet Catholic Academy," Diocese of Joliet Director of Communications Mary Massingale said in Tuesday's news release. "Hylka applied for the St. Joseph’s teaching position and was vetted like any other candidate."

According to Massingale, Hylka was put on leave in January for two weeks and then he was restored to his regular teaching duties — until last week's termination coinciding with the Joliet Police Department investigation that led to the filing of two felony charges against the 44-year-old New Lenox resident, who previously taught theology for many years at Joliet Catholic Academy.

"The diocese became aware of a Tik Tok video that depicted an adult male lip-synching a song while text scrolled behind him," Massingale said in Tuesday's statement. "The text referenced a high school experience in which he was propositioned or groomed by a teacher, who was not named. A source contacted the diocese identifying the man in the video by name.

"Because the text in the video referenced a situation similar to that of Hylka’s, the diocese determined the most prudent course of action was to put Hylka on administrative leave while the matter was investigated. The diocese reached out to the man in the Tik Tok video, but he wanted to remain anonymous and declined to talk to diocesan officials. Hylka’s leave status was not disclosed to parents because it was a confidential personnel matter and because the account in the video could not be clearly linked to Hylka."

The Diocese statement ended by reiterating that Hylka was terminated from his position at St. Joseph Catholic School, as well as his positions as a youth minister at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Joliet and the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet, on April 28.