A 38-year-old music teacher at Orangeville Elementary School in Lena, Illinois, has been taken into custody on suspicion of child pornography charges. Collin Zier was arrested on Thursday by deputies from the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office Crime Suppression Unit at a home on Virginia Avenue.
According to authorities, the arrest warrant was issued in connection with alleged incidents in June. The investigation was launched after a report from an official with the Orangeville School District raised concerns about a district employee communicating with a student outside of school through an unauthorized platform.
As of Saturday morning, Zier was still listed as a music teacher on the Orangeville Elementary School website. However, the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office has urged anyone with information about the case to come forward. “We believe that there may be additional current or former Orangeville School District students who have yet to be interviewed and may have information pertinent to this investigation,” the agency said in a social media post.
The sheriff’s office is encouraging current or former students who may have information to contact their Investigations Division at 815-235-8252. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are possible.
Zier is currently being held at the Stephenson County Jail pending a detention hearing. The arrest is the latest in a string of cases involving educators accused of possessing child pornography. In a separate incident, a substitute teacher in Homestead, Florida, was recently accused of possessing child pornography after a lengthy investigation.
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) defines child pornography as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), emphasizing that every explicit photo or video of a child is evidence of sexual abuse. “Just as kids can’t legally consent to sex, they can’t consent to having images of their abuse recorded and distributed,” the organization notes.
