Dierkes Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to 18 Years

(JAMES DIERKES)

A former instructor in the Vandalia school district has pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual assault.

31-year-old James Dierkes faced a series of charges alleging improper contact between him and a victim who said she and Dierkes had inappropriate sexual contact on multiple occasions while he was working at Okaw Area Vocational Center in Vandalia in 2016. The investigation led to another victim who alleged she also had inappropriate sexual contact with Dierkes on multiple occasions. Dierkes was charged with four counts, then another nine counts were filed later.

Dierkes later left the employment of the Vandalia school district to join the Illinois State Police. Once Dierkes was charged with the offenses, the State Police fired him.

Dierkes, who was slated to go on trial next week, pleaded guilty to the three counts and was sentenced to six years in prison on each count. The sentences are to run consecutively, not together, and Dierkes must serve at least 85% of each sentence before being eligible for parole. He was also sentenced to three years to life of mandatory supervised release once out of prison.

The victims were in court for the sentencing hearing.