Students, Staff, Urged To Share Information About Richards Employee Charged in Secret Video-Recordings

Raymond Vansyckle, 31, of Joliet, is accused of secretly video-taping student in locker room. | Oak Lawn Police Department

The day after the shocking arrest of a Richards High School employee charged with taking unauthorized videos of a student in the girl’s locker room, Dist. 218 officials and Oak Lawn police are asking those who believe they may have been targeted to step forward.

Raymond Vansyckle, the 31-year-old Richards girls varsity volleyball coach and pool equipment manager, was charged with unauthorized video recording on Wednesday.

According to the charges, on Oct. 30, a 14-year-old student noticed a cell phone camera above a curtained window in a storage area pointed toward her across the locker room where she was changing her clothes.

Prosecutors said that Vansyckle had dismissed the student early from physical education class to deliver some contracts related to school sports activities to the Richards athletic director. Prosecutors termed the contracts as “not being urgent.”

In addition to his other duties, Vansyckle, who is married and resides in Joliet, was assisting the physical teacher when the alleged incident took place.

The coach told the student not to use the stalls in the locker room because the floors had been treated with chemicals that “might burn your feet,” prosecutors alleged. School officials said the floors had been recently treated with chemicals after a sewage problem, but it had been resolved by the time the incident took place.

After withdrawing his offer to provide his cell phone when the accusations were made, police obtained a search warrant. The cell phone video had been deleted, but police said evidence still remained showing the partially clothed student.

In a statement on Richards High School’s website, district officials said that Vansyckle is banned from entering any of the Dist. 218 school campuses.

Dist. 218 Superintendent Ty Harting said in an earlier statement that school officials “are working in cooperation with the Oak Lawn police department and need to respect the privacy of the victim and let the investigation run its course.” Harting concluded that there was no immediate risk to students.

Vansyckle has been suspended without pay.

Students, faculty and staff who have information or had “suspicious” contact with the Richards coach and employee are asked to talk to Richards administrators or the Oak Lawn police officer designated as the high school’s student resources officer, said Division Chief Randy Palmer, of the Oak Lawn Police Department.