A Kane County judge has decided to allow a teen to testify against a Sugar Grove man charged in connection to an Aurora sexual exploitation case.
Authorities claim Paxton Singer, a former youth director for Harvest Bible Chapel of Aurora, engaged in an inappropriate relationship with two students.
Singer is pleading not guilty, court records show. He faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and sexual exploitation of a child.
Authorities allege that Singer exchanged Snap Chat and text messages with the students, requesting inappropriate images and asking personal questions.
A motion filed June 26 asks if the court will allow other evidence of crime to be reviewed, court records show. The defendant has since responded to the motion.
Authorities said the judge will weigh in on whether the evidence should be allowed in the court.
Kane County Circuit Judge Michael Noland decided Aug. 16 to let one of the two teens testify. It remains unclear why the other teen will not testify.
A motion made earlier this year allows the defendant to waive jury trial in favor of a bench trial, court records show.
“What I can tell you regarding the bench versus the jury is that that’s something the defendant gets to choose,” said Chris Nelson, public information officer for the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Multiple attempts to contact Singer’s attorney failed. Currently, the case remains at pre-trial.
The next scheduled status hearing is Aug. 29.