Oswego Police Received At Least 2 Battery Reports Naming Former Oswego Teacher, Coach: Cops

OSWEGO, IL — Oswego police have confirmed to Patch that they received at least two reports of battery allegations against a former Oswego High School teacher who is now at the center of a lawsuit claiming students were subjected to sexual harassment and grooming.

Four former Oswego High School students filed a lawsuit naming former teacher and coach Sean Staffeldt and Oswego Community Unit School District 308, Patch reported. Disparti Law Group, a Chicago firm, filed a lawsuit Feb. 25 on behalf of the women.

The women alleged Sean Staffeldt engaged in a long-standing pattern of grooming, inappropriate physical contact, sexually explicit comments and boundary violations targeting female students. The district was aware of his conduct but failed to stop it, despite multiple reports over several years, the law firm alleges.

The Oswego Police Department received at least two reports naming Staffeldt, Patch learned through a Freedom of Information Act request about any reports regarding the former teacher. Both were reported as incidents of battery.

RELATED: Former Oswego High Students Sue D308 Over Sexual Abuse, Grooming Claims

Police took the first report on Jan. 27, 2020, about an incident that reportedly occurred between Aug. 15, 2019, and Jan. 25, 2020. Two complainants came forth with the case, with one reporting "she felt uncomfortable with a teacher at Oswego High School." She was 17 at the time of the victim-sensitive interview at the Kendall County Child Advocacy Center.

"I spoke with the School Resource Officer ... and advised him that we would not be seeking charges and this case would be closed at this time," the reporting officer, Detective Terry Guisti wrote in his case report.

The second report came on June 15, 2020, seven months after the incident reportedly occurred, from 3-10 p.m. Nov. 9, 2019, at Oswego High School.

"Upon completion of the interview, it was decided that the appropriate charge would be battery," Detective Bryan Cummings, who sat in on the victim-sensitive interview, wrote in the report.

Ultimately, the complainant didn't pursue charges — she did not want to prolong the process as she is currently enrolled to start college in August," the report says.

It's unclear what the specific allegations were against Staffeldt, as the details of the incidents were redacted from both police reports.

The lawsuit against District 308 said students began reporting the misconduct in January 2020, but victims weren’t provided "adequate support and were instead isolated or pushed to alter their educational paths while the investigation unfolded."

Three years prior, in 2017, the suit claims Staffeldt received a written warning to maintain professionalism and abstain from hugging or touching students.

He worked for the district for 12 years before resigning in 2020, according to the suit.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include additional information after police unredacted portions of the reports.