Ex-Crystal Lake lawyer pleads guilty to violating sex offender registry

A former lawyer from Crystal Lake who was convicted in 2017 of videotaping a teenage girl undressing at an Algonquin fitness club was given one year of non-reporting conditional discharge for violating the sex offender registry.

James Zeas, 56, of the 5300 block of Rita Avenue, who also lists his name as Jaime Tedor Zeas in court records, entered into a negotiated plea of guilty to failure to report a change of address of employment, a Class 3 felony. He also was sentenced to 180 days in the county jail, but with credit for time served, the sentence was considered satisfied, according to a sentencing order filed in McHenry County court.

Authorities said in the court documents that between Oct. 7 and Dec. 6, 2022, Zeas, “being a registered sex offender, failed to report in person to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office within [three] days after gaining employment at” a Crystal Lake hot dog stand.

Zeas’ attorney, Jed Stone, described the charge as an “administrative glitch.” At the time, Zeas had – and still has – a job teaching adults music theory in advanced guitar. He was in counseling, a condition of his parole, and could no longer continue to pay for it, Stone said. Had he not paid, he would no longer have been able to participate in counseling, which could have put him in violation of his parole, Stone said.

So, his lawyer said, Zeas took on a second job at the hot dog stand working three days a week to pay for his counseling. At the time, Zeas was wearing an ankle monitor, and because it was a second job, Stone said, Zeas did not think he needed to register the job. However, someone in counseling told him he had to alert the authorities, and he did. After reporting the second job to the sheriff’s office, Zeas was charged, Stone said.

“He didn’t change jobs, and he never thought of that as a violation of the registry clause,” Stone said. “Additionally, the statute ... said the reason for wanting to know of new jobs is because [the state] want[s] to be able to find you, wants to be able to track you. That makes a certain amount of sense, but he also was wearing an ankle monitor for parole, so he was being tracked anyway.”

Had Zeas gone to trial on the alleged violation, he could have been sentenced to five years in prison, the attorney said.

After being convicted in 2017 of having inappropriate images of a child, a Class 1 felony, Zeas was sentenced to four years in prison, of which he was required to serve 50%. Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for life. The lifetime registry requires convicted offenders to comply with a number of conditions, including reporting a new home and work address within a specified number of days.

As a result of his conviction, he was no longer able to practice law. In the earlier case, Zeas, then of Lake Barrington, was accused of secretly placing a video camera in the family bathroom of an Algonquin fitness club in 2009 and recording a 14-year-old girl changing out of her swimsuit, prosecutors said during his trial. In 2011, Zeas’ then-wife found the video on his computer, authorities said. The video was not turned over to police until 2015, around the time the couple was divorcing, according to court documents and earlier news coverage.

During his sentencing hearing, Zeas said, “I profusely apologize for anyone I’ve hurt. This is not who I am, and this is not who I want to be,” according to the earlier news coverage.

Zeas also has filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his rights were violated, his trial attorney was ineffective, and he “is actually innocent of the offense for which he was wrongfully convicted,” Zeas wrote. He lost an earlier appeal to the 2nd District Illinois Court of Appeals and was denied a hearing before the Illinois Supreme Court, he wrote.

Zeas is due back in court on the petition Jan. 7.