Prosecutors say a Wauconda District 118 teacher and sports coach from Crystal Lake shared child sexual abuse videos and described teaching as “perfect” for furthering his desire to engage in sex acts with children.
John M. Anderlik, 27, of Crystal Lake, was charged with two counts of disseminating child sexual abuse material, a Class X felony, and two counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, a Class 2 felony.
Anderlik allegedly shared two videos in August that each showed a prepubescent boy under the age of 13 engaged in a sex act, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court.
Both videos were screen recordings of Snapchat videos, the complaint said.
The two videos Anderlik allegedly possessed each showed a prepubescent boy under the age of 10 engaged in sex acts and one of them also showed a boy under the age of 15, according to the complaint.
The four videos ranged from 13 to 49 seconds long, the complaint said.
Wauconda Community Unit School District 118 Interim Co-Superintendents Todd Leden and Brian Wegley said in a letter to families Thursday that Anderlik is a sixth-grade teacher and girls basketball coach at Matthews Middle School in Island Lake.
Anderlik used a Snapchat account to send and receive child sexual abuse material, prosecutors said.
Court documents said Anderlik repeatedly possessed and shared child sexual abuse material depicting children under the age of 13 and under the age of 10 and made requests to trade or continue sharing it.
Anderlik also allegedly engaged in an extensive conversation with another person he referred to as “ped twin,” prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Anderlik discussed his desire to engage in sexual acts with prepubescent children during the conversation and spoke about his profession as a teacher, describing it as “perfect” for furthering that desire.
Court documents said his online conversations indicated an intent to continue seeking out the material and to continue engaging with minors.
The conversations also indicated an intent to sexually abuse and “find a 9” to “rape,” according to court documents.
Anderlik allegedly created and deleted accounts and had suppliers of the material known as plugs whose identities are not known, court documents said.
The Crystal Lake Police Department received a tip on September 8 from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a Crystal Lake resident had used Snapchat to upload a video depicting a prepubescent child engaged in sexual activity, prosecutors said.
The police department began investigating Anderlik through information from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, of which the department is a participating member.
An “immediate investigation” was prompted, according to Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Richard Neumann.
A Crystal Lake Police Department detective obtained a search warrant for the Snapchat account and identified Anderlik as its owner and user, prosecutors said.
Court documents said Anderlik confirmed the account is his and that it is associated with email addresses and usernames belonging to him.
The IP address of the device receiving the material was traced to a location consistent with Anderlik’s home address when the content was downloaded, court documents said, adding that he lives alone at the home.
Images of Anderlik himself, including some involving sexual content, were also found within the captured content, court documents said.
The Criminal Investigations Unit conducted the investigation, which led to the issuance of a search warrant for Anderlik’s residence.
Neumann said the Crystal Lake Police Department conducted the search at the residence in the 1600 block of Carlemont Drive in Crystal Lake on Thursday morning.
Crystal Lake police detectives took Anderlik into custody on the felony charges.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Anderlik pending trial and McHenry County Judge Jennifer L. Johnson granted the petition following an Initial Appearance Court hearing on Friday afternoon.
Anderlik appeared at the hearing in person and was represented by defense attorney Steven J. McArdle.
Johnson said Anderlik’s release poses a real and present threat to the community because the behavior reflected in his online communications leads her to conclude he would continue to seek out child sexual abuse material.
Johnson noted that Anderlik is employed as a teacher and coach of minors.
Johnson said Anderlik’s alleged behavior supports a market for the material that harms the children depicted and that sharing digital images and videos online is “essentially boundless,” with each viewing or sharing re-victimizing the child.
Johnson said Anderlik’s alleged creating and deleting of accounts and use of unknown suppliers mean orders barring him from using the internet or having contact with minors could not be reasonably monitored or enforced by the court.
“Since the news of the Defendant’s arrest broke, parents in this community have been second-guessing who they entrust their children to. They deserve the peace of mind that comes with the detention of this defendant,” McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office Deputy Chief Brian Miller said in court.
“These are seriously disturbing allegations, particularly given this man’s position of trust and access to young people,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese said.
“When law enforcement receives information suggesting that children are being sexually exploited, there can be no delay,” Freese said.
“We commend Detective Michael Maloney and the Crystal Lake Police Department for acting swiftly on the tip they received and methodically to identify the individual allegedly behind this account and apprehend him,” Freese said.
“Our office will continue to work alongside law enforcement to protect children and aggressively prosecute those who are alleged to exploit them,” Freese said.
Anderlik has been placed on administrative leave and is prohibited from entering any school district property or contacting any students, Leden and Wegley said.
Leden and Wegley said the district is fully cooperating with the Crystal Lake Police Department.
The Island Lake and Wauconda police departments have also been informed, they said.
“The safety, well-being, and protection of our students is always our highest priority,” Leden and Wegley said.
Crisis teams, social workers and counselors are in place at all District 118 schools, including Matthews Middle School and Wauconda High School, to support students and staff, Leden and Wegley said.
A LinkedIn profile for Anderlik said he is a full-time English Language Arts teacher at Matthews Middle School in Wauconda Community Unit School District 118.
His profile says he has been head coach of the district’s seventh-grade volleyball program since January 2022 and was an assistant varsity coach for the district from June to November 2025.
The LinkedIn profile said Anderlik was an adjunct professor at the College of Lake County in 2025.
A spokesperson for the college said Thursday that Anderlik does not currently teach at the school.
His Facebook profile said he started working as a 12U coach at Sky High Volleyball in Crystal Lake in April.
Sky High Volleyball Executive Director Scott Harris said Anderlik was a part-time coach from May to June for the girls 12U team during the six-week spring season.
“Sky High has not had any contact with Mr. Anderlik since his departure. Our governing body, Great Lakes Region/USA Volleyball, runs thorough background checks every year on all coaches and they are mandated to take the USA IMPACT training before coaching any minors,” Harris said.
“Since March of 2017, the SAFESPORT training is also now required for all coaches. Sky High has been around since 1989 and has been one of the leaders in the club sports industry for training and performance. Sky High prides itself on placing many safeguards in our venues to help keep our players safe at all times,” Harris added.
Anderlik has a TikTok account that identifies him as a teacher and has more than 12,000 followers.
Many of the videos on the account appear to have been filmed in a classroom.
The bio on the account tells students who come across it to “leave you weirdo.”
Anderlik also directed week-long Camp Invention STEM camps for elementary students at Cotton Creek Elementary School in Island Lake in the summers of 2022 and 2023, according to his Facebook page.
Anderlik was an Early Career Educator nominee at the 2025 Educator of the Year organized by the Lake County Regional Office of Education.
Anderlik was a student teacher at Heineman Middle School in Algonquin in 2021 during his final semester at Illinois State University while also working for McHenry School District 15 for several years, his LinkedIn profile said.
Anderlik holds a Professional Educator License issued in May 2021, according to Illinois State Board of Education records.
Anderlik, a McHenry East High School graduate, was named a Golden Apple Scholar in 2018.
Anderlik remains held in the McHenry County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on October 1.
The Crystal Lake Police Department said its investigation into Anderlik is ongoing.
The department is encouraging anyone who may have information relating to the investigation to call it at 815-356-3620.
Anyone with a cell phone can send an anonymous tip to the police department by texting the word CLPDTIP along with the tip information to 847411.