A former Chicago Public Schools student is suing the district for not protecting her after a top administrator at Little Village Lawndale High School allegedly sexually assaulted her multiple times, resulting in two pregnancies and coerced abortions.
In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, the woman alleges she was sexually abused by then-Dean of Students Brian Crowder from 2013 to 2016, beginning when she was just 15 and continuing into her adult years. The Tribune does not name victims of sexual abuse or assault without their permission.
“I didn’t really live my high school years how I thought I would, how I pictured them before going into high school,” said the woman, now 25. “I was just so focused on what we had going on and my pain and just started doing that. I was going through it by myself because I couldn’t go to anybody but him.”
The suit also alleges that a teacher failed to report the assault and did not protect the student. Under Illinois law, teachers are mandatory reporters for sexual assault.
“Our client was failed twice. She was abused by a dean, who was charged with disciplining students and keeping students safe at that school, but she was also failed by a teacher who knew the abuse and failed to report it,” said her attorney, Martin Gould, at a news conference Thursday.
The suit alleges the yearslong sexual assault began when Crowder asked the student for her Snapchat. He began messaging her via the app and allegedly soon began a sexual relationship that lasted years. During the abuse, Crowder impregnated the student twice, the suit alleges, and pressured her to get abortions. To circumvent an Illinois law that at the time required parental consent for abortions for minors, the suit alleges, Crowder told the clinic that he was the student’s stepfather, signing consent forms under a false name.
“The teacher put that burden on what to do next back on our client’s lap,” Gould said Thursday.
Speaking quietly through tears, the former student said that while she felt sadness and anger at her own experiences, she hoped sharing her story would encourage other girls to speak up about sexual assault.
“I just want to help any young girl that may be going through this to know that it’s not OK, and it is OK for them to come forward,” she said.
Following an investigation into Crowder by the Office of the Inspector General, CPS removed him from his position in September 2021. Crowder was later charged with sexual assault in 2022 and placed on a do-not-hire list by CPS while the OIG investigation is ongoing.
Crowder is out on bond and due back in court April 17, according to public records.
In a statement, a CPS spokesperson said the district cannot comment on pending investigations or litigation.
“Chicago Public Schools (CPS), prioritizes the safety and well-being of our students. We take seriously our responsibility to ensure all employees act in the best interest of our students. The District does not comment on pending investigations or litigation. Our CPS team follows District policies and procedures as we respond to issues,” the statement said.
The CPS Office of Inspector General does not comment on complaints received by the office.
Sexual assault allegations have been an ongoing issue for the district, which has seen a 12% increase in complaints during the 2023-24 academic year compared with the year prior, according to data presented by the district at a Feb. 22 Chicago Board of Education meeting.
CPS Deputy Inspector General Amber Nesbitt, who heads the district’s sexual allegations unit, told the board in February that 2024 had already been particularly “busy” for the unit. Within the first two months of the year, the unit had already received 92 complaints, averaging out to three cases per school day.
In October, the parents of three CPS students accused a former Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School gym teacher, Andrew Castro, 37, of sexually assaulting three boys from the same family over four years until early 2022. Castro was charged with criminal sexual assault in June, according to Cook County sheriff’s office records.
The Lorca Elementary accusations came months after a Farragut High School security guard was charged with criminal sexual assault of a student in July — and after years of reckoning over what federal officials deemed in 2019 to be “appalling” districtwide “failures” in CPS’ handling of sexual abuse allegations.
After investigating more than 3,000 complaints filed over four years and involving 400 CPS schools, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights entered the district into a legally binding agreement, mandating reforms and federal monitoring.
Amid the scandal, the OIG’s office formed its now-30-member Sexual Allegations Unit after a Chicago Tribune report exposed conflicts of interest in investigations formerly helmed by the CPS Law Department. The OIG’s office now investigates all adult-to-student sexual misconduct complaints, referring cases involving other forms of student harassment to CPS’ Office of Student Protections.
Gould said he hopes the lawsuit reinforces the need for adequate training for teachers and district employees to know their duty to protect students from sexual assault.
“Every teacher must understand the consequences if they do not report abuse,” Gould said. “And every single teacher, administrator, principal, coach who doesn’t report abuse, must face consequences.”