The College of Lake County says it has fired an employee after he was arrested for soliciting children for sex at Wauconda High School. He was employed by the school despite being a felon and having prior accusations against him.
The Wauconda Police Department said they were made aware on April 16 of allegations of inappropriate conduct involving a College of Lake County (CLC) staff member and students.
The staff member was identified as Adam C. Faulkner, 42, of Island Lake, according to Wauconda Police Department Sgt. Heather Cognac.
Faulkner was employed at the time by the College of Lake County and provided college and career services to students at Wauconda High School.
Cognac said Faulkner was placed on leave the same day and the police department began an investigation.
The Wauconda Police Department, with assistance from Lake County Sheriff’s Office Canine Enzo, a dog trained in detecting electronics, and the Island Lake Police Department, carried out a residential search warrant in connection with the investigation.
Evidence was recovered indicating that Faulkner engaged in the grooming and indecent solicitation of two female juvenile students at Wauconda High School, Cognac said.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said a phone recovered by police was linked to a Snapchat account where the user was purchasing photos of women performing sex acts on each other.
Cannon said in court that numerous pieces of evidence link Faulkner to the second phone before calling the behavior “shocking and egregious.”
Faulkner was taken into custody on April 23 following a traffic stop for driving on a revoked license just prior to the search warrant.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges of two counts of Solicitation of Child Sexual Abuse Material, 2 counts of Grooming and 2 counts of Indecent Solicitation of a Child.
“Crimes involving children are among the most serious we investigate. We will pursue this case aggressively and work to ensure that anyone responsible is held fully accountable,” Wauconda Police Chief David Wermes said.
Court records show Faulkner was charged in Lake County with driving under the influence of alcohol in 2012 and then twice with felony aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol in 2015.
The 2015 charges indicated that it was Faulkner’s third driving under the influence offense, court records show.
He pleaded guilty to a Class 2 felony of DUI in one of the two cases, which was an arrest out of Wauconda in January 2015. He received 36 months of probation, 100 hours of public service and 12 months of electronic monitoring.
In addition to the DUI charges, Faulker was also charged in 2023 in Kane County with solicitation of a child but was found not guilty. He later got the case expunged.
A lawsuit was brought in 2024 against Community Unit School District 300 alleging that Faulkner engaged in misconduct, including grooming, against a female juvenile at Hampshire High School, along with two other minors, while he worked at that high school from 2022 to 2023.
The College of Lake County said in an update on Wednesday that it had terminated Faulkner following his latest arrest.
“The College regrets the impact of these charges on students, families and communities. The College has cooperated with the Wauconda Police Department in the investigation into this situation,” President Dr. Lori Suddick and Interim President Dr. Kristen Jones said in a joint statement.
Faulker had been removed from the school premises of the college on April 16 and placed on administrative leave while being ordered not to have contact with any CLC or high school students.
Suddick and Jones defended the college’s hiring process, saying all employees undergo a criminal background check. “This process was completed at the time of Faulkner’s hire.”
Suddick and Jones acknowledged that the college is now conducting a “comprehensive internal review” of its background check and hiring processes, including the circumstances around Faulkner’s hiring and employment.
Faulkner’s biography from the College of Lake County described him as a proud Lake County native and Carmel High School graduate.
He said that he “pursued my passion for education by earning a degree in History, Secondary Education from Appalachian State University (’06), followed by a Master’s in Education from North Carolina State University (’10).”
Faulkner said he spent nearly 15 years working as a paraprofessional and special education teacher in Lake County and was dedicated to helping students succeed in and out of the classroom.
“My goal is to support students in finding educational pathways that align with their passions, goals, and future success,” Faulkner said in the biography.
The College of Lake County said it has temporarily paused all college and career navigation in-person services at high schools pending verification or completion of fingerprint-based background checks.
CLC is also requiring a high school counselor and parent or guardian to be present in virtual appointments with students under the age of 18 while the fingerprint-based background check is underway.
Parents and guardians are urged to speak with their children about any potential interaction with Faulkner and come forward with information by calling the Wauconda Police Department Investigations Division at 847-865-0399.