Belleville school administrator pleads guilty to disorderly conduct against teacher
A Belleville school administrator has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct after being accused of mailing underwear and a sex toy to a teacher.
A second misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct was dismissed against Justin Ballou, director of technology for Whiteside School District 115, as part of a plea agreement.
St. Clair County Circuit Court Associate Judge Elaine LeChien sentenced Ballou to one year of probation on Thursday, the day his bench trial was supposed to begin. He’s also ordered to pay $514 in fines and court costs.
Ballou couldn’t be reached for comment Monday. His Glen Carbon attorney, K.T. Taplin, declined comment.
Nicole Webster, the Whiteside Middle School teacher who complained about Ballou’s actions last spring, said Monday she was “disappointed” in the process and outcome of the case.
“I truly believe this is why many, many women do not come forward and report things like this,” she said. “(The perpetrators are) not going to get charged with much of anything. Is it even worthwhile?”
Webster is a seventh-grade teacher in special education.
A St. Clair County judge granted her a stalking no-contact order against Ballou in March. That’s similar to an order of protection, but it’s used in cases involving parties with no domestic relationship.
In Webster’s petition for the order, she cited three incidents, including receipt of two packages at her home, one with a fictitious return address that contained Victoria’s Secret panties and one with a ball gag; and four chandelier light bulbs placed in her school mailbox.
Webster said she was questioned by a St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department detective several times after filing a complaint, but that no one from the St. Clair County state’s attorney’s office contacted her about the case before or after the plea agreement.
Webster said she called the state’s attorney’s office on Oct. 14, asking what was happening, and that a representative told her, “There would be several more meetings before anything is finalized.”
Two BND calls to the state’s attorney’s office weren’t returned Monday.
“We were told in the beginning that (Ballou’s charge) could be a felony,” Webster said. “Then it got moved from stalking down to disorderly conduct. It was like, ‘Whatever we can do to minimize it.’”
Ballou was charged in April with two counts of disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor, which has a maximum penalty of up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine plus court costs.
The Whiteside School Board had placed Ballou on paid administrative leave and then unpaid leave in March. He’s still listed as director of technology on the district’s website and his personal LinkedIn and Facebook pages.
Superintendent Mark Heuring couldn’t be reached for comment Monday. School is out for Christmas break.
Webster said she plans to attend the next school board meeting to see what happens with Ballou’s job. The stalking no-contact order, which remains in effect through April 5, 2023, doesn’t prohibit him from working for the district, as long as he stays 500 feet from her.
“I will not let him run me out,” Webster said. “I’ve been here 18 years. I just feel that the way it was handled, not by my principal, but by the superintendent, was ‘Let’s minimize it. Let’s not talk about it.’”
