NORMAL - Knowing that former schoolteacher Jon White has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing children and will go to prison for up to 70 years will help everyone involved heal and move on, but the topic of sexual abuse remains, counselors and educators said Wednesday.

"Certainly, we're pleased that the children who have been victims won't have to go through the trauma of testifying," said Judy Renner, director of McLean County Children's Advocacy Center. That agency interviewed White's former students in Normal as part of the investigation.

White's case is closed, pending sentencing hearings in April for 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of 11 elementary school girls since 2004 in Normal and Urbana.

Parents have to remain aware of the risks of sexual abuse of children and be open to discuss it with children if something happens, Renner said.

Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz said White's case illustrates the need for parents to communicate with their children - and for school officials to remain vigilant.

"Talk to your children. There were warning signs here that were ignored," Rietz said.

Unit 5 Superintendent Gary Niehaus said he was pleased with the plea because it will spare additional trauma for the children involved.

"I was really concerned about the victims having to testify," he said. "It (not testifying) will help them move on - not having to relive it again."

Niehaus said his hope would be that White spends the rest of his life in prison and people won't have to worry about there being any other victims.

Renner said such a hope is common. "Everyone in the system is looking for the wrong to be righted," she said.

The superintendent said he could not comment on how the administration handled the complaints involving White because he wasn't in the Normal-based district at the time.

Unit 5 continues to work with counselors, teachers and the administrative team to report suspicious behavior.

"Hopefully, we're getting that out there," he said. "There's a safety net."

There are reasons former students come back after graduation and report things to high school counselors and others with whom they have formed a trusting bond, he said. They build relationships with people they can trust and can go to them to look for support and security.

At least one teacher is also relieved she and the children won't have to testify.

"I feel relieved about not having to go," said Malika Kelly of Bloomington, a former Unit 5 teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom with her two sons.

She wasn't teaching at Colene Hoose Elementary School when the incidents occurred but was previously and knew White. She had been subpoenaed to testify.

Kelly said knowing how uncomfortable it was for her, an adult, to be questioned and cross-examined, she worried about how traumatic the process would be for children.

While the court experience may be a difficult one, it can be a validating experience for older children to testify in court in some cases, said Lynn Willard, executive director of ABC Counseling and Family Services in Normal.

It may be helpful for a child to feel like adults believe her, especially in cases of abuse within a family where some relatives refuse to believe the abuse happened, Willard said.

Abuse by a respected person, such as a teacher, affects the whole community, she said. Parents find it unsettling to realize it really can happen in any community and any socioeconomic circumstance, Willard said.

That's why it is important to know the signs and the symptoms in children, such as mood and behavior changes, she said.

She said parents can take courses, like the six-week one offered by ABC Counseling, that examine various topics related to sexual abuse.

"Always let a child know you are there for them," she said.

Edith Brady-Lunny contributed to this report.