Paul Bocska, the former St. Charles driving instructor convicted in absentia of sexually assaulting and abusing a teenage student, is back in the Kane County jail after being extradited from Hungary. He returned to custody on Sept. 11, six days before the latest report, and appeared before Circuit Judge David Kliment, who set the next hearing for Oct. 28, 2026. Shaw Local reported that Kliment ordered Bocska held without pretrial release because he is already convicted and had been absent for an extended period.
Bocska’s attorney, Liam Dixon, is seeking a new trial and argues that the trial should not have proceeded while Bocska was absent. The motion cites medical documentation, including a May 2025 email concerning a colon cancer diagnosis, according to the current coverage. Kliment indicated that sentencing could also occur on Oct. 28 if the motion is denied. The court’s handling of that request remains unresolved.
What led to the conviction
Prosecutors said Bocska sexually abused a minor student on multiple occasions in April and May 2021 while serving as her driving instructor. He was charged in May 2023 and was released on a cash bond. Public accounts differ on the precise amount posted, so the bond figure is not repeated here. His private school, Drive Now, later closed its downtown St. Charles office, according to Cardinal News.
Bocska was scheduled to go to trial on April 17, 2025, but did not appear. A jury proceeded in his absence and returned its verdict on April 22, convicting him of four counts of criminal sexual assault and 12 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The charges include Class 1 and Class 2 felonies, according to reporting by Fox 32 Chicago. The victim testified during the proceedings, and prosecutors publicly credited her with helping secure the convictions.
Why the new-trial question matters
Illinois appellate decisions show that requests for relief after an in-absentia proceeding turn on the specific explanation for the defendant’s absence; they do not establish an automatic new trial. In a June 27, 2011 Rule 23 order, the Fourth District affirmed the denial of a new-trial motion after finding that Kathleen Dillard had not shown her absence was both without her fault and caused by circumstances beyond her control. The court’s order involved a 2003 escape conviction after a bench trial.
A more recent example also illustrates the limits of the comparison. In a Sept. 2, 2026 Rule 23 order, the Fifth District upheld the denial of a new sentencing hearing for a White County defendant who claimed illness and hospitalization but remained a fugitive for two years. That decision concerned sentencing, not a jury conviction at trial, and therefore does not determine how Kliment should resolve Bocska’s motion.
For now, Bocska remains detained in Kane County while the judge considers whether the cancer-related evidence legally justified his absence and whether the 2025 verdict will stand. If the motion fails, the court could move to sentencing on the existing convictions at the October hearing.
