Suspect also taught swimming at YMCA
BY JACQUELINE LEE - News-Democrat
BELLEVILLE -- A Jefferson Elementary School night custodian and YMCA swim instructor was charged Thursday with predatory criminal sexual abuse of children.
Christopher B. Mayweather, 37, of 23 St. Clair Lake Drive in Swansea, was charged Thursday with five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, said St. Clair County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson.
The charges stem from cases involving two victims, and police are investigating two other possible victims. Each boy was about 5 or 6 at the time, police said, and in each case, the abuse lasted from 10 to 15 years.

Christopher B. Mayweather. - Provided/BND
The victims are not students at the school, and the abuse did not take place at the school or the YMCA.
Police said Mayweather met three of his victims about 15 years ago when he went swimming at the YMCA. He met the fourth victim separate from the YMCA.
Mayweather befriended the children and their families, and in some cases, became a babysitter for the family.
"In fact, he would even buy these children iPods and CDs and those types of things to get these children to trust him and to get the family to trust him," Johnson said. "These are families that trusted this individual to even baby-sit their children. ... I strongly suspect ... that more people may come forward."
The Sheriff's Department began its investigation in early March when one of the victims, who is now a teenager, reported incidents of sexual abuse. In this case, the assaults occurred at various locations near Belleville, including along Winslow Road, Glen Addie Boulevard and Warrensburg Drive.
Investigator Matthew Jany looked into the matter and identified more victims, some whom now live outside Illinois.
Mayweather was arrested Tuesday morning. He remained at the St. Clair County Jail on Friday on $500,000 bail set by St. Clair County Associate Judge Ellen Dauber.
In recent years, Mayweather became a part-time swim instructor at the YMCA of Southwest Illinois Downtown Belleville branch.
YMCA officials learned Thursday of Mayweather's arrest and immediately suspended him from all duties at the YMCA.
"The safety of those we serve is our primary concern. All YMCA staff undergo a thorough background check prior to employment. We will monitor this situation and take further action as appropriate," YMCA of Southwest Illinois President Jorge Perez stated in a news release.
Mayweather remained employed by District 118 as of Friday afternoon.
"As long as he's in custody, he's not in a situation that he's available to be at work. If he's released in any capacity at all prior to the conclusion of the case, we will be recommending immediate suspension of the employee," said District 118 Superintendent Matt Klosterman.
"We will do what we need to to ensure he's not on school district property prior to the conclusion of the case at hand," Klosterman added.
Mayweather has worked as a custodian at Jefferson Elementary for nearly two years. Before that, he was a substitute custodian for District 118 for more than two years.
"To my knowledge, we've had no reports of any specific concerns regarding this employee while he was working with us," Klosterman said.
Klosterman said officials administered a background check on Mayweather before he was used as a substitute custodian, and then again before he was hired.
The background checks did not show "any indications to any prior offenses of any sort," Klosterman said.
"Our primary concern is and always has been the safety and welfare of our students," Klosterman said in a letter to parents Friday.
Police said Mayweather has worked at other schools, but the names of the schools were not immediately available.
Police are asking that any victims, or anyone with information about the suspect, call Jany at the Sheriff's Department at 277-3504, ext. 5712.
Contact reporter Jacqueline Lee at jlee@bnd.com or 239-2655.
COMMENTS
Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2010/03/27/1191534/school-custodian-faces-sex-charges.html#ixzz0jO8giSXJ