A teacher with a long record of child molestation charges and convictions who was fired earlier this month by the Archdiocese of Chicago allegedly sexually abused a 9-year-old boy he was tutoring for nearly a year in Orland Park, prosecutors said Friday during his first court appearance on the charge.
Brett Smith, 43 and of Tinley Park, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and appeared before Judge William Fahy who ordered him detained at the Bridgeview Courthouse on Friday.
Smith was arrested by Orland Park police Wednesday after an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse involving a juvenile and the advertising of private tutoring services on social media, police in the southwestern suburb said in a statement.
During Friday’s detention hearing, prosecutors said the alleged abuse occurred 13-14 times between Dec. 7, 2025 and Jan. 7, 2026 while Smith was “in a position of authority” to the boy, who he was tutoring, court filings showed.
Smith “committed an act of sexual conduct” with the victim, and Smith “intentionally fondled the buttocks” of the boy for the purpose of sexual gratification, court filings show.
The victim’s mom found Smith on Nextdoor, a social networking service, and hired him. During “every session,” Smith allegedly rubbed the boy’s back under his shirt and placed his hands on the boy’s buttocks while the boy read, prosecutors alleged.
The alleged abuse happened in the dining room of the boy’s residence, while his mother was home but often in another room and his father was at work, prosecutors said.
The boy told authorities he found it “strange” that Smith would ask questions about his parents, such as where do they work, what is their schedule, do they fight and how old are they, prosecutors said. Smith gave the boy a sticker each time he answered one of those questions.
In early January, 2026, the boy’s mother spotted Smith, who had placed a pen on the boy’s upper thigh, according to prosecutors, who added the boy asked Smith: “Why did you put my pen there?”
During one attack the boy, “knocked” Smith’s hand away and then Smith asked the boy to put the pen on his private area, prosecutors said.
Citing Smith’s alleged “extensive history of abusing children,” the judge ordered Smith detained, saying he is “real and present threat” to the safety of the community. It would be “too great of a risk” to the safety of children, the judge said, according to court records.
Smith, whose attorney said suffers from panic attacks, depression, anxiety and fainting, is due back on court on Feb. 20
Smith turned himself in at the Orland Park Police Department after detectives attempted to find him at his residence, according to the statement from police.
The investigation began after parents hired him for tutoring and he identified himself as “BJ S. McAuliffe,” according to the statement. The parents later became concerned when the name associated with a requested bank payment appeared as Brett Smith, the statement said.
The parents conducted an online search of Brett Smith, also known as Brett Zagorac, and found publicly available news articles and videos from other states referencing prior allegations involving children and then contacted police, prompting a criminal investigation, according to the statement.
During the investigation, detectives determined that Brett Zagorac legally changed his name to Brett Smith and utilized several aliases, including BJ S., BJ Smith, and BJ S. McAuliffe, when advertising tutoring services. After an extensive investigation, detectives established probable cause that Smith engaged in sexual contact with a juvenile, the statement said.
Anyone who believes they, their child, or a child under their care may have been a victim of Brett Smith should contact the law enforcement agency where the incident occurred, Orland Park police urged.
Smith was hired by the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2024 after passing a state background and fingerprint checks, Catholic Schools Supt. Greg Richmond wrote in a letter to parents earlier this month.
After the archdiocese learned about the allegations against Smith, he was terminated and barred from the area’s Catholic schools, Richmond wrote. The archdiocese confirmed in a statement that it received information about Smith’s “history of issues” in other states last week before firing him.
Smith, accused of and convicted for molesting children in Illinois and other states, had worked in at least four South Side and south suburban Catholic schools since 2024, according to Richmond.
Smith has been charged and convicted several times for criminal sexual assault of a minor, and he pleaded guilty in at least one of those cases. In many of the incidents, his victims were children he was tutoring, according to news reports.
Kaitlin Washburn contributed.
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