EDWARDSVILLE - A former Edwardsville High School assistant principal who was charged in 2023 with Criminal Sexual Assault for having a sexual relationship with a minor student is back in custody after violating the conditions of her bond.
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As previously reported on Riverbender.com, the Edwardsville Police Department received information alleging that an assistant principal at the school had a sexual relationship with a juvenile who was younger than 18. The subsequent investigation led to a suspect, Erin L. Hamilton-Foley, 50, of Edwardsville, being taken into custody on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.
A description of one of the charges states she “held a position of trust, authority or supervision” in relation to the 17-year-old victim, “being that she was an assistant principal … and his assigned mentor.” Hamilton-Foley resigned from her position in July of 2023, but pleaded “not guilty” in the case against her.
According to an application to revoke Hamilton-Foley’s bail, one of the conditions of her bond was that she have no contact with the victim in this case. Two weeks after being released, Hamilton-Foley used multiple social media platforms to contact the victim on “numerous occasions,” according to the application.
Hamilton-Foley reportedly “liked” an Instagram post made by the defendant on June 7, 2023, prompting the victim to contact her via Instagram direct messages.
On June 11, 2023, Hamilton-Foley reportedly called the victim three times from her cell phone at 8:27 p.m., 8:38 p.m., and 8:48 p.m. The next day, she allegedly used her cell phone to search the internet for the phrase “violation of bond.”
A Victim Advocate from the State’s Attorney’s Office received an email on Sept. 27, 2024 from the victim in this case stating “he believed that the defendant was reaching out to him via Snapchat.” The Edwardsville Police Department obtained a search warrant for the Snapchat account of “elff1772” with the display name “Erin.” After further investigation, police were able to link the account to a phone number belonging to Hamilton-Foley.
“Snapchat records show that the defendant added [the victim] as a ‘friend’ eight times on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2024,” the application states. Hamilton-Foley reportedly sent five messages on Sept. 28 and another message on Oct. 1, but the content of those messages had been erased. She sent another six messages on Oct. 1, 2024 before asking Snapchat’s AI Chat Bot if she was on the victim’s friends list.
Finding her “unable to comply with the conditions of bail,” the state submitted an application to have Hamilton-Foley’s bail revoked. She has been ordered to be held in custody pending a hearing on the state’s application, set for Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, at 10:30 a.m.
Madison County court records show that several motions have been filed to continue pushing back the date of her jury trial by over a year. According to the latest motion to continue her trial, Hamilton-Foley's legal counsel was called for jury duty on the previously set trial date.
Originally set for Aug. 7, 2023, Hamilton-Foley's jury trial is now set for Nov. 12, 2024.
The issuance of charges is based solely upon probable cause and is not an indication of guilt. All subjects charged with criminal offenses are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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