Police say the suspect used multiple names online and through payment apps to get tutoring jobs.
ORLAND PARK, IL — A former Chicago-area Catholic school substitute teacher has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse after police said he used an alias to land a private tutoring job and then made sexual contact with a 9-year-old boy. The man, 43-year-old Brett Smith, was arrested Jan. 28 after turning himself in.
The case has sparked urgent questions for parents and church leaders because Smith also worked inside several Catholic schools in Chicago and the south suburbs over the past 16 months, according to the Archdiocese of Chicago. Church officials said they fired him after learning of his prior history of allegations in other states and have reported the matter to child welfare authorities. Police and prosecutors say Smith used a string of aliases and a legal name change to keep finding work with children, while investigators are still trying to determine whether there are more victims.
Orland Park police said the investigation began when parents searched for a tutor on social media and hired a man who identified himself as “BJ S. McAuliffe.” The parents later became uneasy when a requested electronic payment showed the name “Brett Smith,” police said. After they searched the name online and found earlier reports from outside Illinois involving allegations about children, the family contacted police, prompting detectives to open a criminal investigation. Orland Park police said they worked with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and developed probable cause that Smith engaged in sexual contact with a juvenile while providing tutoring in the family’s home.
Police and prosecutors say the alias on the tutoring advertisement was not the only name Smith used. Orland Park police said Smith used several variations while marketing his services, including “BJ S.,” “BJ Smith,” and “BJ S. McAuliffe.” In court proceedings described by local media, prosecutors said another name, “BJ Wilhelm,” was also tied to Smith. Police said Smith’s original legal name was Brett Zagorac and that he later changed his name to Brett Smith. The name mismatch, investigators said, was what first alerted the parents who hired him and led them to look more closely at his background.
The Archdiocese of Chicago said Smith had contact with students at multiple Catholic schools, including Queen of Martyrs School in Evergreen Park, where officials said he worked as a substitute teacher in January. The archdiocese said he also had assignments earlier in the school year connected to Pope John Paul II School in the Brighton Park neighborhood, and previously worked as a long-term substitute at St. Walter-St. Benedict School, which has campuses in Chicago and Blue Island. In a letter to families, the archdiocese said it had no reports of sexual misconduct by Smith while he was working inside those schools, but confirmed that a south suburban family filed a police complaint involving conduct that occurred while he was tutoring in their home.
Church officials described the situation as alarming and said Smith was removed as soon as the archdiocese learned of the allegations tied to his background. The archdiocese said Smith passed state background and fingerprint checks when he began working for the archdiocese in 2024, a detail that has become central to the scrutiny now facing the school system and state screening processes. In an interview published by the Chicago Sun-Times, legal experts said it was difficult to understand how a long criminal history would not be flagged through fingerprint-based screening, while an Illinois State Police spokesperson told the paper the agency performed a fingerprint-based check in 2024 and said state law restricts what the agency can disclose about results.
Smith appeared for an initial court hearing in Bridgeview, where prosecutors urged a judge to keep him detained while the case proceeds. In the hearing, Smith’s attorneys asked for electronic monitoring, arguing he needed to help care for his parents, but the judge ordered him held, according to reporting from the court proceedings. His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 20. In a separate development, a lawsuit filed in Cook County alleges Smith groomed and inappropriately touched a second grader connected to Queen of Martyrs, and Evergreen Park police have confirmed they are investigating a possible incident involving a child. ABC7 Chicago reported that Smith’s attorney dismissed the civil claims as a “shakedown” and said Smith denies wrongdoing.
Public records and past reports show a long trail of earlier allegations involving Smith under his former name. In Indiana, reports dating back more than a decade describe a case in which a jury convicted him of misdemeanor battery involving a young child. In Illinois, he faced a 2015 charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Wilmette and later pleaded guilty to a lesser battery count, according to local reporting. In Arizona, a television report in 2022 said Smith received probation in a forgery case and that state officials had accused him of using a name change to conceal his past. Prosecutors in Cook County cited that broader history as a reason Smith should not be released while awaiting trial.
Investigators are now focused on whether Smith used tutoring ads, informal referrals, and variations of his name to gain access to other families. Orland Park police urged anyone who believes they, their child, or a child in their care may have been a victim to contact the law enforcement agency where the incident occurred. The archdiocese said it is cooperating with investigators and child protection officials as it attempts to piece together Smith’s movements across schools and tutoring arrangements. Officials have not identified the child involved in the Orland Park charge, and authorities have not publicly detailed where the alleged abuse occurred beyond describing it as connected to private tutoring.
For families in the south suburbs, the case has brought a new wave of fear and anger because the alleged abuse is tied to a tutoring arrangement that began with a routine search for academic help. Parents at schools named in the archdiocese letter have demanded more information about screening and supervision, while church officials have promised a review of internal safeguards. Police have not said whether Smith is suspected in other cases in Illinois beyond the Orland Park charge and an Evergreen Park investigation, and prosecutors have not announced additional charges. For now, the felony case remains centered on the allegation that a tutor working under a false name had repeated, unsupervised access to a child in a private setting.
Smith remains in custody in Cook County as the investigation continues and civil claims move forward in court. His next scheduled court appearance in the criminal case is Feb. 20, and police said tips from other families could shape whether more charges are filed.
Author note: Last updated February 9, 2026.