A Former Catholic School Teacher Accused of Abusing a 9-Year-Old Boy He Was Tutoring
A Chicago-area teacher who had been working at several Catholic schools has been fired by the Archdiocese after allegations surfaced that he had sexually abused a 9-year-old boy while tutoring him. Brett J. Smith, 43, of Tinley Park, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and is facing up to seven years in prison.
According to investigators, Smith used a social media platform to advertise his private tutoring services under multiple aliases, including "BJ S. McAuliffe". Parents who hired him for their children were unaware of his troubled past, which includes multiple convictions for child molestation in Illinois and other states.
The abuse allegedly occurred 13-14 times between December 7 and January 7, while Smith was tutoring the boy in his home. The victim told authorities that he found it strange when Smith would ask questions about his parents, such as their work schedule and how old they were, and reward him with stickers for answering.
Smith's extensive history of child abuse led a judge to order him detained without bail, stating that he was a "real and present threat" to the safety of the community. His attorney claimed that Smith suffers from panic attacks, depression, anxiety, and fainting spells.
The Archdiocese of Chicago had hired Smith in 2024 after conducting background checks, but terminated his employment after learning about the allegations against him. The archdiocese confirmed that it received information about Smith's history of issues in other states last week before making the decision.
This latest incident highlights the need for greater vigilance and accountability in the Catholic education system, particularly when it comes to hiring staff who have a history of child abuse. As one advocate noted, "It's not enough just to run background checks; you also need to do thorough investigations into an individual's past."
A Chicago-area teacher who had been working at several Catholic schools has been fired by the Archdiocese after allegations surfaced that he had sexually abused a 9-year-old boy while tutoring him. Brett J. Smith, 43, of Tinley Park, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and is facing up to seven years in prison.
According to investigators, Smith used a social media platform to advertise his private tutoring services under multiple aliases, including "BJ S. McAuliffe". Parents who hired him for their children were unaware of his troubled past, which includes multiple convictions for child molestation in Illinois and other states.
The abuse allegedly occurred 13-14 times between December 7 and January 7, while Smith was tutoring the boy in his home. The victim told authorities that he found it strange when Smith would ask questions about his parents, such as their work schedule and how old they were, and reward him with stickers for answering.
Smith's extensive history of child abuse led a judge to order him detained without bail, stating that he was a "real and present threat" to the safety of the community. His attorney claimed that Smith suffers from panic attacks, depression, anxiety, and fainting spells.
The Archdiocese of Chicago had hired Smith in 2024 after conducting background checks, but terminated his employment after learning about the allegations against him. The archdiocese confirmed that it received information about Smith's history of issues in other states last week before making the decision.
This latest incident highlights the need for greater vigilance and accountability in the Catholic education system, particularly when it comes to hiring staff who have a history of child abuse. As one advocate noted, "It's not enough just to run background checks; you also need to do thorough investigations into an individual's past."
I can only imagine how traumatizing that must be for the little boy, he's lucky to have people like us looking out for him and wanting change in the system 
. Seven years isn't enough time for someone who's done what Smith has done, you feel me? 
They gotta do better on keeping their kids safe, it's not just about background checks, but making sure they're doing their due diligence 
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this is soooo wrong on so many levels... i mean how could the archdiocese not know about his history of abuse? like they should have been doing way more research and vetting before hiring him. and what really gets me is that he was using multiple aliases to scam parents into hiring him... it's just crazy 
. and now this poor kid has to deal with trauma because of some grown man's selfish desires. i mean we need better systems in place to protect our kids, you know? like not just background checks but actual investigations and stuff. cant let people like this ruin the good name of education 
? i was driving through this tiny town and saw this old diner that was literally straight out of a western movie 
i ended up stopping in for breakfast and talking to the owner, who told me all about the history of the place... anyway, it made me think about how crazy our lives can get, right? like one minute we're dealing with news about teachers getting fired for abusing kids, and the next we're cruising through the desert eating pancakes 
This is so messed up! 
That's like 1 child every 25 seconds! 
And it's not just Catholic schools either - most schools have similar policies and screening processes in place. But let's look at some stats: according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 1 in 7 runaways are victims of sex trafficking, which is a form of child abuse. 
The average age of an abused child is around 9 years old, and boys are more likely to be victims than girls. 
It's not enough just to run background checks; you need to do thorough investigations into an individual's past. 
Here are some stats on Catholic school policies: in 2022, the Archdiocese of Chicago reported only 12 cases of child abuse out of over 100 million students served. 
anyway this incident highlights how important it is for institutions like schools to do their due diligence when hiring staff, especially with sensitive positions like tutoring or working with minors 
... I mean, it's just sad that this had to happen again 
. Like, a quick Google search or something would've saved the little guy from all this trauma 
. And the fact that he was using fake profiles on social media... really? That's just lazy 
. I'm not saying the Catholic schools are at fault, but it does make you wonder how many more people like him are lurking in the shadows 
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. This isn't the first time this has happened, sadly 
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. The archdiocese is right to have taken action as soon as they found out.
anyway, it's a total failure of the system and we should be mad but i'm just trying to keep it real here 
how many more kids gotta go through this before we get some serious change? 
read more about this here: 
The archdiocese needs to take responsibility for not conducting thorough investigations before hiring him 
and we need to make sure this never happens again 