Former Naperville North Counselor Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of Student

A former Naperville North High School coach and counselor pleaded guilty on Tuesday to having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student in 2010, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney.

Get news in your inbox. Sign up for the Patch newsletter.

Like Naperville Patch on Facebook.

John Carbonaro, 35, of the 3S600 block of Melcher Avenue in Warrenville, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual abuse, a Class 4 felony, in front of Judge Blanche Hill Fawell this morning before his trial was about to begin, according to a release. He faces a sentencing hearing on Feb. 19.

“As a trusted member of the high school’s staff, Mr. Carbonaro used his position to sexually abuse his young victim,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a release. “He cared nothing for his victim and betrayed the trust placed in him by the victim, the school and the victim’s parents."

Carbonaro allegedly began a sexual relationship with the female Naperville North student in the summer of 2010, sexually abusing the student in his home, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney.

In Feburary of 2011, Carbonaro turned himself in after police said a concerned parent called the school and told the principal about an inappropriate relationship he had with a teenage student, Patch reported in 2011.

At that time, Naperville School District 203 administrators immediately contacted authorities to begin an investigation. Carbonaro—a counselor and the school's junior varsity girls' golf coach— was suspended and "removed from all duties and responsibilities within the district," according to an e-mailed statement from Naperville Community Unit School District 203 in 2011.

Carbonaro was hired as a full-time employee at the district in 2006. At that time, he successfully passed the required background checks conducted on all District 203 employees, district officials have said.

Carbonaro was also a part-time summer camp coach and range officer for the Naperville Park District for 5 years before he was suspended without pay.