Jeremy Hylka Ousted From 3 Diocese of Joliet Positions

JOLIET, IL — The Diocese of Joliet issued a statement Wednesday afternoon announcing that Jeremy Hylka will not be returning to his positions at St. Joseph Catholic School in Lockport or St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church and the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus, both in Joliet.

"The Diocese of Joliet received information from various sources concerning alleged inappropriate communications with a purported minor," director of communications Mary Massingale told Joliet Patch. "Civil authorities have been notified. The diocese, the school and the parishes remain committed to a safe environment for all children under our care."

Patch called the Joliet Police Department seeking comment about Hylka early Wednesday afternoon. Around 4:30 p.m., the agency issued the following news release: "The Joliet Police Department has been made aware of a video depicting an adult allegedly engaged in inappropriate communication with a minor. Joliet Police Detectives possess this video and an investigation is currently underway. Thank you for your assistance. No further information will be released at this time."

Joliet Patch has left a detailed voicemail message with Hylka's cell phone seeking comment for this article.

Last June, Joliet Patch published an article about a petition by Joliet Catholic Academy alumni to fire Hylka from the teaching staff at JCA.

The group, called Alumni Coalition for Change at Joliet Catholic Academy, sought Hylka's removal as the high school theology teacher and claimed that Hylka had "liked a since-deleted Facebook post that supported violence against Black Lives Matter protestors."

"The school administration's silence and failure to take disciplinary action on the matter are the primary catalysts behind the founding of the Alumni Coalition for Change at Joliet Catholic Academy," the group's founder, Trevor Shelby, wrote at the time.

Hylka did not return to the JCA teaching faculty for the 2020-2021 school year. Instead, he became a teacher at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Lockport.

Hylka is also director of the Joliet Weather Center.

On Wednesday afternoon, Rev. Gregory Rothfuchs, the Catholic school's pastor, and Principal Lynne Scheffler sent the following letter to families affiliated with St. Joseph School, where Hylka was finishing his first year on the teaching staff: