Mount Vernon, IL (KTRS) A Mount Vernon math teacher faces felony charges after police in southern Illinois say he used an anonymous social media app to arrange a sexual encounter with an eighth-grader.

Kevin Battas, 25, was charged Wednesday in Madison County with grooming and indecent solicitation of a child using the Internet.

Troy police say the high school teacher was arrested before he could meet a 14-year-old whom he initially connected with by text messages using the Whisper app. The teen’s mother found the messages and alerted police.

Battas was released from the county jail Thursday on a $150,000 bond.