Charges for former Reed-Custer teacher upgraded to federal court

The case against former Reed-Custer teacher and Manhattan resident Dayna Chidester, who has been facing state-level charges related to sex crimes against a minor, will now be facing a sexual abuse charge in U.S. District Court.
Chidester, 51, was charged in January for six counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, as well as one count of indecent solicitation of a child and one count of unlawful grooming.
Those state charges were dropped by prosecutors on Wednesday after the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against Chidester.
She was arrested by FBI agents on Wednesday and will now be facing a federal sexual abuse charge for allegedly having sex with the 14-year-old boy at hotels and in her car from September 2018 to December 2018, reports The Chicago Tribune.
That teen is not a student at Reed-Custer.
The Tribune reports that prosecutors argued she was a flight risk and danger to the community, and she will be held in custody without bond until a detention hearing on Friday afternoon.
Previously she was free on a $1 million bond.
Chidester resigned from Reed-Custer School District in January.
Chidester taught consumer science and served as the sponsor for the Reed-Custer High School FCCLA program since August 2017. She was initially arrested Jan. 3 by Manhattan police.
For a complete report, including court proceedings, read the Oct. 2 issue of The Braidwood Journal.