Photo: Macon County Jail
An Illinois substitute teacher accused of having sex with an 11-year-old boy during "play dates" blamed the child for coming on to her, according to a sworn police statement obtained by WCIA.
Alley Bardfield, whose age has been reported to be 32 or 34, was initially charged with predatory criminal sexual assault, which she pleaded guilty to last week, as well as grooming, which was later dropped by the Macon County State's Attorney. Bardfield allegedly exchanged messages and explicit photos with the boy through Snapchat and paid him hundreds of dollars through CashApp for several months, according to police.
The child's mother found $700 in CashApp payments from Bardfield while checking her son's phone. The mother noticed that her son's behavior shifted drastically after he spent a night at Bardfield's house, according to a sworn police statement.
The child confirmed that he had unprotected sex with Bardfield after being confronted by his mother. Bardfield was the boy's substitute teacher at the Hope Academy public school when the abuse took place between 2023 and 2024 and had invited him to multiple "play dates" at her home in 2023 and twice again in March 2024, when the sexual encounters allegedly took place.
Bardfield claimed that the child made sexual advances toward her during the first night they had a sexual encounter when interviewed by police. The substitute teacher was fired by Decatur Public Schools in April 2024 when the district was notified of the alleged abuse.
Bardfield appeared in court last Thursday (August 7) as part of a disposition hearing and reached a partial plea deal with prosecutors, leading to her guilty plea. The former substitute teacher could face up to 40 years in prison, however, the exact sentence agreed upon has not yet been revealed publicly.
Bardfield is scheduled for sentencing on September 25.
