Niles Township High soccer coach charged with sexual assault

A girls soccer coach and a special education paraprofessional at Niles Township High School District 219 is being held on $75,000 bail at Cook County Jail Friday, charged with sexual misconduct with a minor.

Jim Szczepaniak, spokesman for NTHS School District 219, confirmed that the allegations against Lovera involve a student from the three-school high school district, but he declined to say which school the student attends.

Niles North, Niles West and Niles Central high schools make up the school district, serving students in Lincolnwood, Skokie and parts of Morton Grove and Niles, according to the school district’s website.

Now, the spokesman said, Lovera, who is a full-time paraprofessional at Niles North High School’s special education department, is on unpaid leave from the district.

School officials reported the allegations to Skokie police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Szczepaniak said in a news release the district issued Friday.

Lovera was hired by NTHS School District 219 as a substitute teacher in 2010 and has coached boys and girls diving at Niles West High School since 2011, according to the news release .

“If any students would like to discuss this issue or need support, we are advising them to speak with their school counselor, social worker or psychologist,” school district officials state in the letter.