Staff Sgt. Alexander Louis, 27, worked out of a recruiting office in Waukegan, but also made several visits to Lake County high schools. Investigators said Wednesday that it's possible there are more alleged victims out there.
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"Unfortunately this is a situation where somebody overstepped their authority and abused their authority," said Sgt. Chris Covelli, of the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
Detectives said that Louis met the girl while assigned to the Waukegan recruiting office off Green Bay Road, but then allegedly visited the juvenile's home in unincorporated Lake Villa at least three times without her parents' knowledge.
On one of the visits he sexually assaulted the teen, officials said.
"The parents certainly had some concerns about some images they had recovered from the juvenile's cellphone, and they brought it to our attention," Covelli said.
On Louis' apparent Facebook page, he describes his role as "The face of the Marine Corps for Lake County."
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In a statement, the Marines issued a statement: "Recruiting Station Chicago was notified Wednesday of sexual misconduct allegations against one of their canvassing recruiters. We take sexual misconduct allegations very seriously and are fully cooperating with the local authorities. Staff Sergeant Louis has been relieved of his duties and is no longer acting in the capacity of a recruiter. An investigation is being conducted and if these allegations are substantiated, Staff Sergeant Louis represents a violation of the trust and honor required of all service members. We trust our Marines to make the right decisions, especially when it comes to recruiting our next generation."
The investigation is not over.
"The recruiter has been to various Lake County high schools across the region, so we're working with other area departments, we're working with the Marine Corps, we're working with NCIS to determine are there potentially other victims out there as well," Covelli said.
Investigators have declined to give the exact age of that juvenile. Louis, a married father who lives in North Chicago, was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail.