Martial arts instructor charged with molesting student, 8

CHICAGO - A taekwondo instructor has been charged with molesting an 8-year-old student, reports CBS Chicago.

Prosecutors said that, on three occasions, 61-year-old Triantafilos "Terry" Tottas kissed, fondled, and groped a boy who took lessons at his taekwondo studio in Skokie, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Tottas allegedly told the 8-year-old victim to keep what he was doing "a secret," according to the station.

CBS Chicago reports that, until February, Tottas also taught taekwondo classes at Chicago's South Loop Elementary School. The school is warning parents about the incident, but says that the alleged molestation did not involve a student of theirs, and did not take place on school grounds.

"We are very concerned about the allegations," said a statement released by the principal of South Loop Elementary. "I'm working with CPS [Child Protective Services] to decide our next steps."

Zori Bliznnkoe, the suspect's neighbor, told CBS Chicago that both of her children were students at Tottas' martial arts studio. She said she doesn't believe the allegations.

"My daughter is 12 and my son is 8 and they were in there since they were 4 years old, both of them," Bliznnkoe said. "I even take my kids and go and stay at his house when they want to play around. It's never been a problem."

Tottas is currently under electronic monitoring at his home in Morton Grove. Efforts by CBS Chicago to speak with the suspect were unsuccessful, the station reports.