A Barrington school district employee was being held in Lake County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail Friday after being charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old male relative, police said.
Yolanda Dipert, 45, of the 28500 block of West Chamberlain Drive in unincorporated Barrington was arrested Thursday while on vacation in Indiana and charged with one count of criminal sexual assault, said Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Christopher Thompson.
Photographs found on the computer of her former brother-in-law showed Dipert engaged in sexual acts with the boy, police said.
On Friday, a spokeswoman for Barrington School District 220, where Dipert has worked as a building clerk since August 2001, said she had been suspended pending the investigation. Dipert worked in a copy room at Barrington Middle School Station Campus, where she had no contact with students, said Deborah Villers, the district’s spokeswoman.
The photos were taken by Lee E. Dipert, 50, of the 1100 block of West Street, Valparaiso, Ind., police said.
He was arrested on Thursday while vacationing in Alaska and charged with three counts of child pornography, Thompson said.
He is being held by Alaskan officials pending an extradition hearing, Thompson said.
Yolanda Dipert admitted during questioning that an 11-year-old female relative also was a victim of sexual assault, police said. Thompson said additional charges are expected.
The children are currently in the custody of a family member, police said.
The investigation began Monday after a relative, who was watching Lee Dipert’s house while he was in Alaska, found the photos on Dipert’s computer and alerted Valparaiso police, Thompson said.
Child pornography also was found on Yolanda Dipert’s computer, which authorities seized from her home, he said.
Police believe the sexual acts began four years ago when Lee and Yolanda Dipert lived in her home after her divorce from his brother, Thompson said. Lee Dipert moved to Indiana about a year ago, police said.