Dad Sues Dist. 233 Over Claims His Special Needs Daughter Was Assaulted by Student

HOMEWOOD=FLOSSMOOR, IL -- The father of a young woman with severe cognitive disabilities is suing a south suburban school district over claims that his daughter was twice sexually assaulted by a male student in the school washroom during the summer of 2016. The plaintiffs, identified as "John Doe" and his daughter "Jane Doe" to protect the student’s identity, assert that Homewood Community High School District 233 and an associate cooperative school for learning disabled young adults failed to protect the special needs student.

According to the complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the young woman was attending the Academy for Lifelong Learning in Chicago Heights. The school is part of a cooperative shared by south suburban high school districts known as “SPEED.” The cooperative school provides specialized instruction and services for students with disabilities ages 18 through 22.

The complaint maintains that the young woman, who was 21 years old at the time of the alleged assaults, was using the women’s bathroom on June 27, 2016. The then-19-year-old male student is said to have followed her into the bathroom and sexually assaulted her. The young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by the same student nine days later on July 6, 2016. The school supposedly monitored the entrance to the women’s bathroom by close circuit TV that connected to the academy’s office on the days of the incidents.

The 19-year-old male student also reportedly assaulted a second female student at the academy on July 6, 2016. The 19-year-old is currently facing felony charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with the assaults.

The plaintiff claims that the school failed in its responsibility to provide a safe, secure and supportive educational environment for his daugther. Instead, the young woman was placed “in a horrific position of weakness and vulnerability that will haunt her for years to come.” SPEED also should have “reasonably known” before the 19-year-old male student enrolled at the academy of his “dangerous and exploitative propensities as a sexual abuser.” The academy failed to adequately supervise the 19-year-old by keeping him away from more vulnerable cognitively disabled students, the lawsuit states.

As a direct result of being sexually abused and molested, the lawsuit states that Jane Doe continues to suffer from “severe and permanent emotional distress” incurring continuing costs for medical and psychological treatment, therapy and counseling. John Doe is demanding a jury trial and damages exceeded $50,000. The young woman and her father are being represented by Chicago attorney Eugene Hollander.

~ Photo via SPEED website