The director of Illinois State University’s School of Teaching and Learning has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor, authorities said Thursday.
Alan Bates, 52, of Bloomington, was indicted Wednesday on four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, authorities said. He was arrested Wednesday afternoon in the 200 block of University Street in Normal. It’s unclear where exactly he was taken into custody, though the College of Education is based in ISU's DeGarmo Hall, at 250 S. University St.
The allegations are related to Bates’ alleged conduct with one victim, under the age of 13, with incidents spread out during four time periods between 2007 and 2015, according to court documents and authorities.
The allegations are not related to his work at ISU, a Bloomington Police spokesperson said. The indictment followed a “lengthy investigation” by BPD’s Criminal Investigation Division, the police spokesperson said.
Bates has been director (equivalent to a department chair) at ISU’s School of Teaching and Learning since 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s also a professor of early childhood education in the College of Education, one of ISU’s marquee programs.
“Illinois State University is aware of the arrest and charges against Alan Bates. The University has received no information as of this time suggesting the charges are connected to his employment at Illinois State,” an ISU spokesperson said Thursday.
It’s unclear if Bates is on leave, or if there’s been some other change to his employment status. A message sent to Bates' ISU email address Thursday received an auto-reply that said he was "out of the office."
“As a matter of course, the university does not comment on personnel matters of individual employees,” the ISU spokesperson said.
An attorney for Bates declined to comment Thursday.
Bates was being held on $1 million bond.
Anyone with information on this case should contact Bloomington Police Detective C. Maas at 309-434-2534 or cmaas@cityblm.org.
