Teen's Parents Sue High-School Locker Room Peeper and School Administrators

OAK LAWN, IL — The parents of a girl who was said to be secretly photographed by a Richards High School employee while changing her clothes in a locker room have filed a federal lawsuit on their daughter’s behalf. The lawsuit alleges that district and school administrators were aware of other complaints by students about the employee’s inappropriate conduct prior to the locker room incident.

Raymond Van Syckle, 31, of the 800 block of Shorewood Drive, Joliet, was charged with unauthorized video recording after he was accused of recording the 14-year-old student in a state of undress on Oct. 30, 2015. Van Syckle was an eight-year employee of Community High School District 218, where he worked as a pool equipment manager and assistant coach of the varsity boys volleyball team at Richards High School in Oak Lawn.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are District 218 Superintendent Ty Harting, Richards’ former principal John Hallberg, the current principal Mike Jacobson and Richards’ athletic director Ken Styler. All are named as defendants in their official capacities and individually. Van Syckle is being sued as an individual.

• Richards Employee Accused of Secretly Video-Recording Student in Girls Locker Room

The complaint alleges that prior to Oct. 30, 2015, Van Syckle was reported to Richards High School administrators for engaging in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature with female students. Despite these reports, the district took no action against Van Syckle. The district continued to place Van Syckle in other positions in Richards’ sports programs and other positions in which he had unsupervised access to female students, the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint also states the design of the girls’ locker room and shower area could be easily viewed from an observation window, including when female students showered and changed their clothes after using the pool. The district tried to remedy the design flaw by installing a shower rod and curtain that could be drawn shut across the window to allow students’ privacy.

On Oct. 30, 2015, Van Syckle asked the student if she could leave her physical education class early to deliver some documents for him to the athletic director’s office. About 10 minutes before class ended, Van Syckle called the student out of the pool to run the errand, the complaint contends.

Before leaving the pool area, he allegedly warned her not to use the bathroom or shower stalls because the floor had recently been treated with chemicals that would burn her feet. That left only the area in front of the observation window, the lawsuit said.

As she changed her clothes, the girl looked up toward the observation window and saw the shower rod bent and what appeared to be a cell phone pointed directly at her. The student wrapped herself in a towel. Peeking out, she saw Van Syckle allegedly exiting the entry way to the observation window.

The student was only able to leave the locker room when another student came to her rescue. As she was exiting the locker room, “Van Syckle started screaming for Plaintiff telling her that everything was alright and asking for Plaintiff’s location,” the lawsuit states. “When Van Syckle saw Plaintiff with her classmate, Van Syckle began calling Plaintiff’s name and asking if she was still going to run the errand for him. ... Plaintiff immediately reported the incident.”

The student reported the incident immediately to school administrators. Later in the school day, Hallberg and Jacobson questioned Van Syckle. He was asked to turn in his personal phone and leave school for the rest of the day, the lawsuit alleges.

Before leaving, Van Syckle allegedly asked for his phone back, but his request was denied. Oak Lawn police later said it appeared as if Van Syckle, before he was questioned, had tried to erase any photos and video recordings of the student.

Oak Lawn police obtained a search warrant and found the video had been deleted, but a photographic image of the partially clothed student remained. Police said Van Syckle admitted to asking the student to deliver some documents and being near the observation window when the student was in the locker room to turn on the showers.

Van Syckle also admitted warning the student about the floors being treated with chemicals, even though the problem had been fixed before Oct. 30, 2015.

The family’s attorneys maintain that the girl has been physically and emotionally traumatized and permanently affected by the alleged sexual abuse. The student respected Van Syckle as a teacher and authority figure, but he abused her trust, they said.

The student’s parents were also deeply injured, living with the knowledge their daughter was abused on school grounds when District 218 could have taken steps to prevent it, according to the complaint. The family has also incurred expenses from medical and psychological care and is asking for unspecified damages, the lawsuit states.

Harting, the superintendent, said the district would not comment on the federal lawsuit at this time, stating the district would let the legal process play out.

The criminal case against Van Syckle, who has reportedly resigned his position, is still pending before Cook County Judge Kerry Kennedy. Van Syckle was indicted by a grand jury with additional charges added in January, including five counts of possession of child pornography, according to court records.

Van Syckle’s bail was also increased from $75,000 to $150,000, requiring an additional $75,000 bond. He is currently on electronic home monitoring. His next court hearing is Sept. 9 in Bridgeview..

Attorneys Raymond J. Sanguinetti and Ann Marie Perez of the Wheaton-based law firm Rathje & Woodward LLC are representing the girl and her family.

Raymond Van Syckle, 31 | Oak Lawn Police Department