When he was arrested on lewd conduct charges in November, a 75-year-old teacher at Schaumburg Christian High School denied that he had masturbated behind a podium in front of a full classroom late last fall.
But in court Tuesday, Paul LaDuke confessed that he was guilty of the incident reported by a student on Nov. 11, and had masturbated in his classroom on other occasions when students were present, the Chicago Tribune reports.
LaDuke was fired from the school the same day his behavior was reported. Police say Laduke confessed to "masturbating while fantasizing about various students for the past 10 years," under questioning, but he later recanted, blaming his statements on dementia.
LaDuke's attorney cited the former math teacher's mental instability in court to explain both his lewd behavior and the conflicting accounts LaDuke had given police. Defense attorney Frank Furlett said his client has been diagnosed with a frontal lobe dysfunction that compromises impulse control and social inhibitions, according to the Daily Herald.
LaDuke was a staff member at Schaumburg Christian High School for 26 years, where he taught math to 9th through 12th graders.
On Tuesday he pleaded guilty to nine counts of sexual exploitation of a child, one for each minor present on Nov. 11 when the lewd conduct occurred, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. LaDuke was sentenced to 2 1/2 years of probation and will have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years, abstain from unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 and undergo psychiatric treatment.
LaDuke's defense attorneys expressed satisfaction with the decision.