An eighth-grade social studies teacher in Unit 5 faces felony grooming charges following a grand jury indictment.
Normal Police say Brandon Knapp, 43, of Hudson, was indicted Wednesday by a McLean County grand jury.
Officers with the U.S. Marshals Task Force arrested Knapp on Thursday on a McLean County warrant stemming from a Normal Police investigation.
Knapp, who taught at Chiddix Junior High School in Normal, was placed on paid leave in January as police investigated reports of alleged misconduct.
Unit 5 previously placed Knapp on leave last November when the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services [DCFS] investigated allegations involving one of his students. DCFS later issued a report that it found credible evidence of sexual exploitation and sexual molestation committed by Knapp.
Normal Police said they opened an investigation in November 2025 following allegations of grooming by Knapp. NPD’s Criminal Investigations Division conducted multiple interviews and worked with the McLean County state’s attorney’s office throughout the course of the investigation, police said in a news release.
Knapp is being held at the McLean County jail and is scheduled to face a custody hearing Friday.
Grooming is a Class 4 felony.
Knapp has been employed with the district since 2006. He’s one of two Chiddix teachers who have been the subject of police investigations this year. Those incidents are unrelated.
WGLT has requested comment from Unit 5.
This story will be updated.
