Artist who formerly taught in Evanston accused of sexually abusing foster daughter

CHICAGO - A well-known Chicago artist and former substitute teacher at Evanston High School was ordered held on $100,000 bond after he was charged with sexually assaulting a foster daughter while she was in his care.

David A. Geary, 47, of Atlanta, Georgia, appeared in Cook County court Thursday where he was charged with felony criminal sexual assault, according to prosecutors.

According to prosecutors, Geary allegedly sexually assaulted a foster daughter from the ages of 15 to 17, while she lived with him in Evanston.

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During the first sexual contact in 2006, prosecutors said Geary invited the girl to watch a movie in a downstairs room. When the victim joined him, Geary sexually assaulted her on a bed, police said.

When the girl was 16, she moved with Geary to a residence in Evanston, according to court documents. Police said on most nights, Geary would sexually assault her when other family members were not around.

David Geary, 47. (Chicago police)

The assaults allegedly continued until the girl moved away for college when she was 18, police said.

Around 2015 or 2016, police said the victim told her significant other about the assaults as well as a therapist in 2022, at which time the incidents were reported to Chicago police.

The victim, who is now 32, identified Geary as her assailant to police, and an arrest warrant for him was obtained on Oct. 4, 2022.

Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz set Geary's bail at $100,000 on Thursday. He has since bonded out and is due in court again on March 28.

Geary was commissioned in 2019 to paint a piece that hangs inside the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Michigan Avenue. Starbucks is now saying they plan to remove his artwork from all of their stores.