GRANITE CITY, Ill. — A teacher at Granite City High School was indicted on seven counts of sexual abuse of students Thursday.
John Manoogian, 59, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Madison County Illinois Thursday after police said he sexually assaulted students between the ages of 14 and 16.
Madison County State's Attorney Thomas Haine said seven male students accused Manoogian of touching them inappropriately. Haine said all of the alleged assaults were done over the clothing of the victims, and all but one happened at Granite City High School.
According to the Granite City High School website, Manoogian is the department chair of the school's fine and performing arts department. A press release from Haine's office said he was placed on leave from his position.
The press release said the Granite City Police Department started investigating in February of 2020 when three students alleged Manoogian had "engaged in acts of sexual conduct with the students." Investigators were made aware of four other victims while looking into the allegations.
“It takes real courage for a young person to report sexual abuse by a teacher,” Haine said in the release. “My office will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law. Abuse of trust by those placed in responsibility over children has no place in Madison County.”
In all, Manoogian was charged with seven counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and five counts of battery. The aggravating element of the sexual abuse charges is the fact that Manoogian was a teacher and the victims were students. The sexual abuse charges are class 2 felonies.
Granite City school district superintendent Stephanie Cann sent the following statement to 5 On Your Side regarding the charges:
"Mr. Manoogian has been on administrative leave since the district was made aware of the allegations in February 2020. This is a district personnel issue and therefore we cannot give any further comment as such."