Evanston School Employees Charged with Child Sex Crimes

Chicago police arrested Evanston/Skokie School District 65 employees Carlos Mendez, 51, assistant principal at Washington Elementary (on leave since Oct. 28, 2025), and Maribel Flores Hernandez, 34, paraprofessional at Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center (on leave since Jan. 16), on Feb. 5, 2026, for sex crimes against minors not in the district. Mendez faces aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child, domestic battery, and a Florida warrant for similar abuse; Flores-Hernandez, reportedly his girlfriend, is charged with criminal sexual assault of a family member under 18 after allegedly grooming and coercing victims over two years, including during a Miami trip. Both held without bond, with a court date of Feb. 25; the victims were family relatives.