Morrison man pleads not guilty to sexual abuse charges
Aug. 22—CLINTON — A former Clinton High School science teacher accused of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing held last week in Ogle County.
Ogle County State's Attorney Mike Rock, as reported by northern Illinois' Shaw Local, said Jason L. Endress, 44, of Morrison, Illinois, is accused of sexually abusing a boy in rural Oregon 19 or 20 years ago when Endress was involved with the Boy Scouts.
Court records show charges of two counts criminal sexual assault involving a victim 13 to 17 years of age and two counts aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a victim 13 to 16 years of age.
In Illinois, criminal sexual assault is Class 1 felony punishable by four to 15 years imprisonment. A Class 2 felony in Illinois is punishable by imprisonment for three to seven years.
Endress was initially taken into custody by Ogle County sheriff's deputies on July 25 and held in Ogle County Jail without bond pending his court appearance. Court records documenting the Aug. 16 preliminary hearing at which he entered a plea of not guilty show a filing for supervised release..
The Court finding there to be probable cause, a status hearing has been scheduled to take place Oct. 4.
A statement released by the Clinton School District the day following Endress' arrest said that the District had been informed of it and that the matter is currently under investigation. Endress has since been removed from the staff directory on the school district's website.
