Former Urbana Substitute Teacher Accused Of Abusing Students

URBANA – Police in Urbana say a former substitute teacher is accused of abusing several 10-year-old students at an elementary school.

Mugshot of Clarence Walker of Champaign Champaign County Jail

In a press release on Tuesday, police identified the suspect as 36-year-old Clarence Walker of Champaign. He is scheduled to be arraigned on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse on Wednesday. As of late Tuesday evening, he remains in the Champaign County jail.

In a separate release, Urbana School District 116 says it was alerted of a report regarding student safety at Leal Elementary School on October 30, 2019. 

“Following the report, the Leal Elementary principal immediately contacted the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the appropriate family members. The substitute teacher in question was removed from USD116 grounds and never returned to teach for the Urbana School District,” says the release.

Urbana police say Walker is accused of placing his hand underneath a student’s clothing.  The department says other students told detectives Walker gave them unwanted hugs and rubbed their backs and shoulders. 

Any person with information on this case is asked to call the Urbana Police Department at 217.384.2320.

WILL News was unable to locate an attorney representing Walker to respond to the allegations.

Press releases:

UPD Teacher Arrest April 28

USD116 April 28 Statement

Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM