A teacher with a long record of child molestation charges and convictions who was fired earlier this month by the Archdiocese of Chicago was expected to appear in court Friday after being arrested again on similar accusations in southwest suburban Orland Park. Brett Smith, 43, facing new aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges, was scheduled to appear before a judge in the Bridgeview Courthouse. Smith was arrested by Orland Park police Wednesday after an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse involving a juvenile and the advertising of private tutoring services on social media, police in the southwestern suburb said in a statement. Smith turned himself in at the Orland Park Police Department after detectives attempted to find him at his residence, according to the statement.The investigation began after parents hired a tutor who identified himself as “BJ S. McAuliffe” to provide tutoring services for their juvenile child, according to the statement. The parents later became concerned when the name associated with a requested bank payment appeared as Brett Smith, the statement said. The parents conducted an online search of Brett Smith, also known as Brett Zagorac, and found publicly available news articles and videos from other states referencing prior allegations involving children and then contacted police, prompting a criminal investigation, according to the statement. During the investigation, detectives determined that Brett Zagorac legally changed his name to Brett Smith and utilized several aliases, including BJ S., BJ Smith, and BJ S. McAuliffe, when advertising tutoring services. After an extensive investigation, detectives established probable cause that Smith engaged in sexual contact with a juvenile, the statement said. Anyone who believes they, their child, or a child under their care may have been a victim of Brett Smith should contact the law enforcement agency where the incident occurred, Orland Park police urged.Smith was hired by the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2024 after passing a state background and fingerprint checks, Catholic Schools Supt. Greg Richmond wrote in a letter to parents earlier this month.After the archdiocese learned about the allegations against Smith, he was terminated and barred from the area’s Catholic schools, Richmond wrote. The archdiocese confirmed in a statement that it received information about Smith’s “history of issues” in other states last week before firing him.Smith, accused of and convicted for molesting children in Illinois and other states, had worked in at least four South Side and south suburban Catholic schools since 2024, according to Richmond.Smith has been charged and convicted several times for criminal sexual assault of a minor, and he pleaded guilty in at least one of those cases. In many of the incidents, his victims were children he was tutoring, according to news reports.Kaitlin Washburn contributed. ...read more read less