School District Didn't Investigate Alleged Sex Assault in Pool Following Water Polo Game: Statement

LIBERTYVILLE, IL - District 128 released a statement on Tuesday in regards to media reports, which included a report that aired on ESPN’s Outside the Lines on Sunday, alleging a Libertyville High School water polo player sexually assaulted a female player from McHenry during a game last year.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines featured Rebecca Dabrowski, 19, in a “disturbing report” that aired Sunday. The sexual assault allegedly occurred while Rebecca was playing for the McHenry boys water polo team during a game against Libertyville High School in May 2015. She told ESPN a male opponent, who had ridiculed her in a previous game, groped and touched her inappropriately under her suit under the water in the pool. The unexpected actions caused Rebecca to scream.

“You could tell from the sound of her voice it was her. It was an awful scream. It’s the kind that pierces through a mother,” Gretchen Dabrowski, Rebecca’s mother, said in the ESPN report.

• Subscribe to Patch Email Alerts, Join Facebook Pages

In the statement Tuesday, school officials said the Libertyville High School coach immediately removed the student accused of the sex assault from the water during the game but did that as a “precaution” and “not as an admission of guilt.”

“The contest officials saw no infraction, called no foul, and our student would have been free to continue in the contest,” according to the statement.

The Buffalo Grove Police Department went on to investigate the alleged assault after Dabrowski and her parents filed a complaint.

The boy repeatedly told Buffalo Grove police, according to a copy of the police report, he never intentionally touched the girl inappropriately and if he did, it was unintentional, the Northwest Herald reports. Police reviewed video footage from the game and determined the act was not intentional.

Libertyville High School’s legal counsel advised school officials to hold off investigating the incident until police completed their investigation, according to the District 128 statement. By the time the Buffalo Grove Police Department closed their case, which resulted in no arrests or charges, it was mid-June and the student in question had graduated from Libertyville High School.

“....the district and school no longer had jurisdiction over the student,” according to the District 128 statement.

Dabrowski and her family have filed a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Education Department of Civil Rights. The Department of Civil Rights is investigating to try and determine whether McHenry High School, Libertyville High School and the Illinois High School Association acted appropriately following the incident, according to an ESPN report on Monday.

• Female Water Polo Player Files Title IX Complaint After Alleged Sex Assault in Pool

McHenry High School has also issued a statement where school officials said that they "investigate all allegations of misconduct and harassment in conjunction with law enforcement, other school districts and all interested parties as appropriate."

"Becca Dabrowski, the student profiled in the story, made many positive contributions to our school community and athletic program. We stand with Becca and her family in support and wish her (the) very best in all her future endeavors."

Here is the full statement from District 128:

In regard to the July 17 ESPN segment and recent Chicago Tribune article involving a recent Libertyville High School graduate, Community High School District 128 would like to assure our parents, students and community that the safety and well-being of all students is our highest priority. As such, the district takes any allegations of misconduct very seriously, and campus administrators work through and with appropriate internal and external sources to investigate misconduct allegations. When the allegation was made at the mid-May 2015 water polo contest, the LHS coach made the decision to immediately remove our student from the water for the remainder of the contest. He did so as a precaution, and not as an admission of guilt. The contest officials saw no infraction, called no foul, and our student would have been free to continue in the contest.

Shortly after the contest, we were made aware that the young lady and her parents had contacted the Buffalo Grove Police Department and filed a complaint, since the contest was held in Buffalo Grove, and that the Buffalo Grove Police were investigating the complaint. Under the advice of our legal counsel, since the Buffalo Grove police were investigating the complaint, Libertyville High School deferred conducting an investigation of the allegations until the Buffalo Grove police department had completed its investigation. When the police are involved, their investigation goes first. The Buffalo Grove police completed their investigation in mid-June 2015, no charges were filed based on their investigation, and the case was closed. By that time, the LHS student had graduated and the district and school no longer had jurisdiction over the accused student. As with any legal matter involving students or staff, District 128 is not able to comment further on the situation.