IL: School nurse pleads guilty to sex with minor

July 15, 2009 11:40 AM

A Bolingbrook elementary school nurse faces a three to seven-year prison sentence after admitting to having sexual relations with a minor in 2006, authorities said.

Laura J. Obzera, 50, of the 800 block of Bonnie Brae in Bolingbrook, was arrested in September and charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse for allegedly having had sexual relations with three teen boys in 2006.

Last Friday, Obzera entered a guilty plea without any attached conditions in Will County Circuit Court to one charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to Charles Pelkie, spokesman for the state's attorney's office. The other two charges were dropped in exchange for her guilty plea, Pelkie said. The offense is a Class 2 felony and carries up to seven years in jail with the option of probation, Pelkie said. Obzera will also be required to register for life as a sex offender. Sentencing is set for Sept. 29.

Obzera worked as a health assistant for Valley View Community School District 365U in Bolingbrook.

In September 2008, the Bolingbrook Police Department joined with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to investigate possible sexually inappropriate text messages between Obzera and male teenaged victims, a police press release said. The boys ages ranged from 13 to 17. The investigation did not reveal that any criminal behavior occurred on school property or that Obzera met her victims through work, the release said.

She had been a licensed practical nurse since 1982 and had never been disciplined by the state before. She is free on bail, Pelkie said.

--Caroline K. Smith