Woman Indicted for Sex with Stepson

(Westchester, Illinois) A 26-year-old local woman, Dorothy J. Arndt, has been accused of engaging in sex with her 15-year-old stepson and giving birth to a child fathered by the boy.

Arndt was arrested in April 2007 and indicted in June 2007 on six felony counts of criminal sexual assault.

When a local man got married in 1999, his 9-year-old son from a previous relationship didn't hit it off so well with the new stepmother. She is only nine years older than him.

Five years later, when the boy was a teenager, the father wondered what had changed between his wife and his son. He wasn't comfortable with the way they were warming up to each other.

The teen never called her "Mom," but he started spending more time with her watching TV and going to the park.

"For a year, I thought something strange was going on between them," said the father, 42, now living in Westchester. "I could feel it in my bones."

Then, in June 2006, his wife gave birth to a baby boy whose fatherhood was uncertain.

According to court documents, his teenage son -- a minor -- had conceived the child.

The man ordered DNA testing of his wife, his son and the baby to confirm his fears. Angry, heartbroken and afraid he would lose his other children if the facts became public, the man kept the story a secret. However, the teenager's biological mother became aware and notified authorities in October 2006.

The next day, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services ordered the family's four remaining children to be removed from the Westchester home, based on allegations of abuse and neglect. A DCFS spokesman declined further comment.

After trick-or-treating on Halloween 2006, the kids left. Now, they're split up across the Chicago area in foster care. Two girls, ages 8 and 2, are in South Elgin, and a 4-year-old boy is in Wheaton.

Arndt said the teenager's baby boy, now 16 months old, is living with the family's former pastor and his wife.

Arndt has a court appearance scheduled for November 16th.