By Ann Rubin
Highland, IL (KSDK) - A Highland, Illinois man is charged with sexually assaulting a mentally disabled teen he met through church.
Now he has stepped down from his position as commander of the town's VFW post.
Authorities say 28-year-old David Eckstein had sex with the 18-year-old woman at his home.
According to court documents the teen was unable to understand the nature of the act or to give consent. Police say she is mentally disabled.
Eckstein was the commander of VFW Post 5694 in Highland Illinois, one of the youngest commanders they'd had.
Following the charges, he promptly resigned.
The post took immediate action to fill his shoes.
"This has been really laying heavy on my mind. I just can't get over it," said Russ Rieke Sr., the Post Judge Advocate. "We focus on how we can move forward."
Authorities say Eckstein voluntarily came to speak with them October 18th. Charges were filed against him the very next day.
They believe the incident happened at Eckstein's home.
At the VFW Post, they're still reeling from the news.
They say they'll let the courts determine his future and they'll rely on their rules and by-laws to help them with theirs.
"We've got a great VFW. We've got 400 and some members out there at our place that are very concerned about our VFW and what's going to happen with our place in the future., so yeah it was pretty devastating," said Rieke.
Eckstein is free on $100,000 bond. His next court date is November 4th.
